Turkish PM to have 402 advisers with proposal approved by parliamentary commission

Neşe Karanfil ANKARA

AA Photo

A bill that will allow Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to have 402 advisers has been proposed by Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Bitlis deputy Vedat Demiröz.  

Demiröz submitted a proposal during a meeting of the Parliament’s planning and budget commission, while the commission discussed the recruitment of 35,000 public school teachers.

The proposal said the new 402 positions aimed at meeting the lack of cadre in the Sectoral Monitoring and Evaluation Unit, which was formed to advise the prime minister in areas including the economy, agriculture, energy, social policies, justice, education, culture, science, technology, communications, transportation, environment, urbanization and international relations.

The “Sectoral Monitoring and Evaluation Unit” was formed in 2011, under Erdoğan’s instruction to act as an advising body to the prime minister, but the positions were never filled. The organization’s aim was to compile reports for the prime minister on specific national and international issues. The organization will work as a think tank and has the authority to demand information from all public institutions.

Minor opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Antalya deputy Mehmet Günal said Erdoğan is preparing to surround himself with advisers as, “he has understood he will not able to win in the upcoming presidential elections.”