Turkish Parliament Elects Cemil Çiçek as Speaker
Deputy Prime Minister Çiçek was elected as Turkey’s new speaker of Parliament in legislative elections Monday following three rounds of voting.
“Our first task is to keep Parliament’s esteem at the highest levels possible. This holy place is not for conflict. Let’s turn it into a place of civilized debate,” said Çiçek in a speech after being elected speaker.
“This Parliament is that of heroes. Even in the hardest of days, it has been a source of hope,” said Çiçek, labeling Parliament as the “heart of democracy” and noting it should continue in that tradition.
He called for a new constitution and for a parliamentary solution to the Kurdish issue and terrorism.
“Parliament should be made the address for a solution instead of the cause of an issue. This is in our hands. Instead of turning our hands into fists, we should start the political term by shaking hands,” he said.
Responding to questions from the media after Çiçek’s election, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said they could fulfill their promise to draft a new constitution if they reached a consensus with the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP.
He also said the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, would be considered absent even if they came to Parliament but did not take oath, referring to the rule that deputies will lose their statuses if they fail to attend five parliamentary meetings.
Erdoğan also said he wanted the CHP to be involved in the work on a new constitution as the main opposition party, but added that they were on the wrong path.
All deputies of the CHP, including party chief Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, joined Parliament for the election, but remained seated in silence without voting. Prior to the general assembly, Kılıçdaroğlu met with CHP officials in his office at Parliament, where they decided on continuing their boycott by not voting.
At the same time, however, the party decided to submit members to the commissions but said it would refuse to take the oath even if asked to do so by the Parliament Chairmanship Council.
The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP-backed, independent deputies were completely absent from Parliament as part of their ongoing parliamentary boycott.
Çiçek, an Ankara deputy, AKP Ankara deputy Zelkif Kazdal, and MHP Antalya deputy Tunca Toskay were the candidates in the speaker’s election. Çiçek received 302 of 376 firstround votes; Toskay finished second with 50 votes, while Kazdal scored just 23 votes, leading him to bow out at the end of the round.
In the second round, Çiçek got 322 votes, while Toskay had 52. Çiçek was elected parliamentary speaker with 322 votes in the third round to Toskay’s 50.
05 July 2011
SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS
