Parliament approves 3-month state of emergency in 10 quake-hit regions

ANKARA

The Turkish parliament has voted in favor of a three-month state of emergency in 10 provinces severely hit by the devastating earthquakes with the votes of the ruling alliance.

A decree for the declaration of a state of emergency was issued by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Feb. 7. Following the parliamentary approval, the state of emergency has entered into force in Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Kilis, Hatay, Malatya, Hatay, Adana, Osmaniye, Kahramanmaraş and Şanlıurfa provinces.

These cities were heavily hit by two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 on Feb. 6.

The state of emergency was approved with the votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its allies, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the Great Union Party (BBP).

The opposition parties, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the İYİ (Good) Party, proposed to limit the state of emergency to one month but it was rejected by the AKP and the MHP. The two opposition parties, as well as the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), voted against the state of emergency.

In line with Article 119 of the constitution, with a state of emergency, the government may bypass bureaucratic procedures and legislative obligations as well as restrict some freedoms.

The government has the authority to seize all the equipment, vehicles, lands and medical stuff, etc., and charge all citizens between 18 and 60 with certain duties. It can also restrict entry and exit of the areas within the state of emergency, evacuate certain places and transfer people from one district to another.