Presidency employee becomes new head of Court of Accounts

The director of a presidential department has been elected as the new head of the Court of Accounts, which performs audits on behalf of Turkish parliament. The main opposition CHP had protested Presidency Personnel and Principles Director Metin Yener's candidacy for the post last week, saying he was already receiving multiple salaries.

Tuesday June 22 2021 09:45 pm

Duvar English

The director of a department in the presidency that deals with personnel affairs has become the new head of the Court of Accounts – the supreme governmental body of the country responsible for controlling public accounts and the auditioning of the accountancy of political parties.

In a secret vote held at Turkish parliament's General Assembly on June 22, Metin Yener received 255 votes, while his only other rival Mehmet Aksoy, a member of the Court of Accounts' Sixth Chamber, received four votes.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) lawmaker Deniz Yavuzyılmaz had protested Yener's candidacy for the post on June 19, saying that Yener was already receiving salaries from multiple places.

“It would be a dream to expect that this person who is working for a president affiliated to a party and who is receiving multiple salaries would determine the AKP's [ruling Justice and Development Party] corruptions, irregularities and public damages,” Yavuzyılmaz had said.

The lawmaker had said that Yener was already the board chairman of TTNET, operating under telecommunications company Türk Telekom, the president of Turkish Boxing Federation, in addition to his post as the head of the Presidency Personnel and Principles General Directorate.

“And now he has put his candidacy as the Court of Accounts president. It would very problematic if a person who is receiving two salaries would be also the Court of Accounts' president,” he had said.

Daily Birgün reported on June 21 that a shocking 54 names who are associated with the presidency and the ruling AKP are receiving multiple salaries from not just the state but private enterprises as well.