Parliament summons extraordinary session
ANKARA
Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş has called for an extraordinary meeting of the parliament on July 25, in response to the opposition's request regarding the recent economic developments and tax hikes.
While the parliament was in recess since July 16, opposition parties had consistently demanded an emergency gathering of the legislative body.
Following the submission of a sufficient number of deputies' signatures from main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Kurtulmuş invoked Article 93 of the constitution and Article 7 of the parliament's bylaws to convene the general assembly.
The recent decision announced in the Official Gazette has increased the tax on gasoline from 2.52 Turkish Liras per liter to 7.52 liras and on diesel from 2.05 liras to 7.05 liras.
In a press conference late on July 18, CHP's parliamentary group leader Özgür Özel emphasized that opposition lawmakers are in unanimous agreement on initiating a parliamentary debate about the country's economy.
Furthermore, he revealed that the CHP plans to challenge the recent tax increases in the constitutional court, seeking their annulment.
The support of 120 lawmakers out of 600 is sufficient for calling the parliament for an extraordinary session. However, there is a need for the ruling party’s support to keep the parliament open during the summer.
