Parliamentary speaker rejects opposition motion for inquiry against Turkish PM over graft

ANKARA

CİHAN Photo

Turkish Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek has returned a Republican People’s Party (CHP) motion demanding a parliamentary inquiry into Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in relation to a wave of corruption probes.

The motion, which was presented to the office of Çiçek on May 28, recalled that Parliament had already decided to form an inquiry commission for the graft allegations against four former ministers after the eruption of the huge corruption scandal, during which police detained the sons of three former ministers and businessmen close to Erdoğan. The main opposition motion also referred to the investigation that broke on Dec. 25, 2013, in the second wave of anti-corruption operations, which were subsequently impeded by the executive body.

The motion included transcripts of recordings, alleged to be conversations between Prime Minister Erdoğan and his son Bilal. Ahead of the March 30 local elections, audio tapes of telephone conversations appeared on websites almost daily, purporting to expose corruption surrounding Erdoğan. The authenticity of the recordings has yet to be verified.

CHP will submit a no-confidence motion for Erdoğan over the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operations to the Parliament this week, lawmaker Engin Altay said following Çiçek’s rejection.