The Parliamentary Constitution Committee will start working on new parliamentary bylaws on July 11 as the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are expected to reach consensus on new bylaws.
New parliamentary bylaws will be discussed in the parliamentary constitution committee starting on July 11, AK Party spokesperson Mahir Ünal said recently. Meanwhile, the AK Party's draft proposal for the new bylaws has reportedly been submitted to the MHP for further consultations.
According to AK Party sources, a 15-article proposal for the new bylaws was received by the MHP last week. The proposal, which has been prepared by AK Party members, including the head of the parliamentary constitution committee and other constitution experts, will be reviewed by MHP authorities.
The proposal will be submitted to Parliament after the MHP expresses its opinion and requests additional adjustments to it. It is expected to top the agenda of the General Assembly after the July 15 events. Parliament will honor the fallen in the July 15 coup attempt and organize several events in memory of "the July 15 heroes."
While the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) are fully against the new bylaws, the MHP is expected to side with the AK Party. MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli signaled that the MHP would actively work for the new bylaws. Speaking before the Eid al-Fitr, Bahçeli said it is not possible for the MHP, "a party that changed the Constitution," to stay outside the process of changing the bylaws.
"We talked about the issue of bylaws at the executive board meeting. We will also talk about it at the Central Executive Board on Thursday," Bahçeli said.
While Turkey's ruling parties always complained about the lengthy process Parliament went through to pass laws, the opposition grew frustrated with the lack of a control mechanism. Political sources previously claimed that the AK Party came to common terms with the Nationalist MHP on changing the bylaws. The two parties brought the constitutional amendment to Parliament in the first place. The AK Party and the MHP campaigned in favor of the constitutional changes in the run-up to the referendum as well.
Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman previously stressed the significance of focusing on changing parliamentary bylaws as well. Speaking a couple days after the April 16 referendum, Kahraman said the first priority for Parliament would be the bylaws.
So far, there have been many attempts to reshape parliamentary bylaws. The current parliamentary bylaws were approved on March 5, 1973, and took effect on Sept. 1, 1973. However, parties have made efforts to change the bylaws more than 150 times since.
