Turkish lawmakers take oath for parliament as Yıldırım nominated as new speaker

ANKARA

Binali Yıldırım, the outgoing prime minister who was nominated by the ruling party as its candidate for speaker of parliament, took his oath in parliament on July 7. Photo: Anadolu Agency

Turkish lawmakers started to take oaths to serve in parliament, following last month’s elections that have shifted more power to the presidency, as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) nominated the outgoing prime minister Binali Yıldırım as the new parliament speaker on July 7.

Six hundred parliamentarians from five political parties were swearing on July 7 in Ankara. Among them are 295 lawmakers from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s AKP and 49 from the allied Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)

Opposition lawmakers are from the Republican People’s Party, Kurdish issue-focused Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and nationalist Good (İYİ) Party.

Turkey’s governing system is changing from a parliamentary system to an executive presidency, which abolishes the office of the prime minister and changes parliament’s responsibilities. 

As predicted, the AKP nominated Yıldırım for the seat of parliament speaker. The MHP had announced that it would support the AKP's candidate. 

The number of lawmakers has increased by 50 seats and a majority in parliament now requires 301 votes.

Two deputies who entered parliament from the CHP's list as part of its "Nation Alliance" with Felicity (Saadet) Party and İYİ resigned on July 7, bringing down the main opposition's number of seats from 146 to 144.

The two deputies, Cihangir İslam and Abdulkadir Karaduman, are expected to return to their original party, Felicity.

The oath-taking will end at midnight on July 11 and the new parliament speaker will be elected on July 12.

As the new executive presidential system will fully go into effect with the inauguration of Erdoğan, it will mark a turning point in Turkey’s political system.

Following the oath-taking ceremony, the president will issue the first presidential decree by which the new ministries will be formed and presidential organizations will be established under the president’s authority.

Erdoğan said on July 6 that he will announce the new cabinet and vice presidents on the same day.