Parliament elects Numan Kurtulmuş as new speaker

ANKARA 

The parliament has elected ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) vice-chair Numan Kurtulmuş as the 30th speaker, following a three-round voting process on June 7.

Kurtulmuş, also an AKP lawmaker from Istanbul, ran as the joint speaker candidate of the AKP and its main ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Under the bylaw of the parliament, a candidate should get 401 votes for the election to be concluded in the first two rounds. If the election goes to the third round, a simple majority - 301 votes - is sufficient to determine the new speaker who will undertake the role for two years.

Tekin Bingöl from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Tülay Hatimoğulları, nominated by Green Left Party (YSP), Cihan Paçacı from the İYİ (Good) Party, Mustafa Yeneroğlu from the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA), Serap Yazıcı Özbudun from the Future Party and Can Atalay from the Turkish Labor Party (TİP) were other candidates for the position of the speaker.

The 600 members of the newly-elected parliament voted in three sessions, with Kurtulmuş receiving 317 votes in the first round.

The candidates failed to obtain enough votes to conclude the process in the second round, as well.

In the third round of voting, Kurtulmuş managed to obtain votes from the simple majority, securing 321 votes, and became the 30th speaker of the parliament.

As the oldest member of the newly-elected parliament, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli temporarily replaced the seat of former speaker Mustafa Şentop.

Pointing out that the parliament hosts 16 different political parties in the new term, Kurtulmuş said that having such diversity is a great indicator of Turkish democracy.

“There are extremely difficult and important issues ahead of us. We can express our opinion by making discussions and revealing our differences clearly, but without excluding each other,” Kurtulmuş said while handing over the duty from Bahçeli.

Kurtulmuş also stated that the parliament will start working on a new civilian constitution in the new term.