PodcastBinali Yıldırım dismisses rumors he will run as candidate in parliamentary speaker election
Binali Yıldırım, who resigned from the office of parliamentary speaker in February 2019 to run as the ruling AKP’s candidate in the Istanbul mayoral race, has announced that he is not planning to return to his old post.
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BinaliYıldırım, foundingmember of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) who hasserved as prime minister under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan,has dismissed rumors that he will run as a candidate in the upcomingparliamentary speaker election set to take place on July 12.
“Iam not running as a parliamentary speaker candidate, I wish successto colleagues who will put forward their candidacy,” Yıldırımsaid on June 18. Yıldırım said that he “felt the need” to makethis statement following rumors that he “wanted to run as acandidate.”
The current parliamentary speaker, Mustafa Şentop, will complete his two-year term by July and the election for the remaining three years will be held on July 12.
Therehave been rumors that Yıldırım, who already served asparliamentary speaker between 2018-2019, would reassume his old post.
Yıldırım resigned from from the position of parliamentary speaker in February 2019 to run as the AKP's candidate in the Istanbul mayoral race. He lost the race twice to current Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) – on March 31, 2019 and on the re-run election of June 23, 2019.