Turkish Parliament to go on recess due to upcoming local elections

Ceren Bayar / Gazete Duvar

The Turkish Parliament on Feb. 26 entered the last sitting week before going to the recess due to the upcoming local elections.

The parliament will continue its work on the 8th Judicial Package in the last week and it will be the last proposal that the parliament will enact before the elections. The proposal suggested revising penalties for individuals who “commit crimes on behalf of an (armed/terrorist) organization without being its member.” 

The package also includes a provision for the permanent establishment of “the Compensation Commission,” initially set up during the state of emergency, to handle non-pecuniary compensation claims related to prolonged trials before the Constitutional Court.

Another bill, which includes regulations on energy and mining with amendments to the Mining Law, was postponed until after the elections due to the mining disaster in Erzincan province.

The opposition had asserted that the amendment was intended to reduce the supervision of mineral exploration and extraction activities and to speed up the process of granting mining licenses.

The proposal will also increase the retirement bonus for the Eid holidays from 2,000 Turkish liras to 3,000 liras.

Party leaders to meet constituents

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, also the chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), has intensified his election campaign efforts and hosted 10 rallies within a span of two weeks. This week, he continues his ground campaign, planning visits to over 30 provinces leading up to the election day on March 31.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Özgür Özel's rally program will be finalized at the Party Assembly and Central Executive Committee meetings on Feb. 26. In these meetings, the party's election planning will be finalized, and lawmakers will be assigned according to their constituencies.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan launched their election campaign from regions with significant voter support, and are set to continue their on-the-ground efforts this week.

Nationalist opposition Good (İYİ) Party chair Meral Akşener, who has been campaigning separately from the CHP in these elections, will also continue her provincial visits.

(English version by Can Bodrumlu)