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Turkish parliament opens for 25th term

Turkish parliament opens for 25th term

Newly-elected MPs have begun taking oaths as of 12:00 GMT Tuesday

The Turkish parliament convenes for the first plenary session of the 25th term on Tuesday, after a two-month break that included the June 7 general election.

The newly-elected members of parliament have begun taking their oaths as of 3.00 p.m., local time (1200GMT).

The Republican People's Party's (CHP) freshly-elected Deniz Baykal is presiding over the assembly as the most senior MP until a speaker is named.

Delivering a speech at the opening ceremony, Baykal said the parliament members will be representatives of all the people, not just those who voted for them.

"After a long, bittersweet single-party-ruling period, our people's decision for us is to cooperate, to govern by joining forces," Baykal said.

The Supreme Elections Committee announced the official results of Turkey’s 25th parliamentary elections on Thursday.

According to the official results, the Justice and Development (AK) Party is the first party with 258 MPs elected to the Turkish parliament. The Republican People's Party (CHP) has 132 seats, while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) each have 80. 

After swearing in, the parliament members will elect a speaker.

Candidates for the seat of parliament speaker will submit their applications after the oath-taking ceremony. The deadline for applications will be June 28.

Baykal has declined to comment on whether he would then stand for parliament speaker beyond his acting capacity.

According to Turkish constitution, the election of the speaker shall be conducted via secret ballot. The first two ballots require a two-thirds majority of the total number of members. In the third, an absolute majority is needed.

If this cannot be obtained, a fourth ballot shall be held in a run-off between the two candidates who have received the highest number of votes in the third ballot.

The election of the speaker shall be completed within five days after June 28.

As none of the four parties has the necessary majority to form a single-party government, they are to negotiate some type of coalition following the opening of parliament.

President Erdogan is expected to ask the AK Party to form a government as the party with the highest number of MPs.

Turkey's constitution stipulates that a new government must be formed within 45 days following the president officially asking a party.

If no government is formed, the country will have to hold snap elections.

Anadolu Agency



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