Turkey has ‘clear will’ to lift state of emergency: Deputy PM

ANKARA

Turkey has a “clear will” to lift the state of emergency declared in the wake of the July 2016 coup attempt, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ said a day after the June 24 elections

“God willing, we will review the state of emergency after the elections and we may lift it. We will work on it after we form a cabinet. The issue will not linger on for very long. We will take a step and move on,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had said on June 8.

After Erdoğan’s election victory, Bozdağ said during a live television program on June 25 that the issue would soon be evaluated by the government. 

“We have given a promise before the elections. The state of emergency will expire on July 19. When it expires we will make the final decision. Our will is very clear and it for the lifting of the state of emergency. But the timing has not been decided yet,” Bozdağ said.

The Turkish Parliament on April 18 extended the ongoing state of emergency for the seventh time for another three months