Erdoğan appoints four members to board of judges, prosecutors

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed four members of the Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) on May 19, three days after the parliament appointed seven members to the restructured board as part of the constitutional amendments approved on April 16.

The four new members included the HSYK deputy head Mehmet Yılmaz, HSYK 1st department chair Halil Koç, Ankara deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Hüseyin Şahin and the deputy İstanbul chief public prosecutor Mehmet Akif Ekinci.

The new board will take office on June 7.

In a late night session on May 16 and May 17, the Turkish parliament appointed the first seven members by an alliance between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

In the first round of the voting, with the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and People’s Democratic Party (HDP) protesting against it, none of the candidates were able to receive 367 votes. Only in the second round, where 330 of the 550 votes were sufficient to mark the names, the members were elected.