Turkish parliament gathers for oath taking

ANKARA

AFP photo

The national assembly of Turkey, most members of which were reelected in Nov. 1 snap elections following the June 7 elections, gathers on Nov. 17 for an oath taking ceremony, the kick off procedure for the forming of a new government.

Deniz Baykal, the former leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), will hold the post of temporary parliament speaker until the parliament elects its speaker.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will commission Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to form the new government on the same day. The new cabinet is expected to be announced on Nov. 18.

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit political party leaders and ask their cooperation for the upcoming agenda of the parliament. He will inform them about plans of his party to change the parliament’s internal regulation, which had led to objection by the opposition as the legislation restricts their right to speak on the assembly floor. 

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) wants the parliament to work for five days, addressing issues in first three days and legislating for the two remaining days.

The government first plans to bring a temporary budget law for the upcoming three months to the parliament agenda.

As preparation of the 2016 Central Governance Budget Law will not be possible within such a short period of time, the AKP will draft a “temporary budget” for the first quarter of 2016 and parliament will begin deliberations over the 2016 Central Governance Budget Law in January, although these deliberations are customarily held in December.

 Unlike previously, Erdoğan will not wait for the election of the new parliament speaker, which will take place on Nov. 22. The new cabinet is planned to be formed on Nov. 28.