Turkish parliament gathers for oath-taking ceremony


Turkey's new parliament had its first plenary session at 3 p.m. local time [1300GMT] on Tuesday five days after the country's Supreme Election Board (YSK) revealed the final official results from the Nov. 1 general election.President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has attended the ceremony during which deputies of the 26th Grand National Assembly were sworn.The Republican People's Party's (CHP) Deniz Baykal -- as the parliament's oldest MP (77) -- has presided over the assembly as the acting speaker. He will hold that position until a new speaker is elected.Before the plenary session, Baykal laid a wreath before the Atatürk monument in the Grand National Assembly at 2 p.m. local time [1200 GMT]. The next stage sees the new lawmakers select the 27th parliament speaker via secret ballot.Candidates for the position will submit their applications after the first plenary session and the oath-taking ceremony. The deadline for applications is Nov. 21.After the parliament decides on a speaker, the four political parties will designate members to the top administrative body according to their representation in parliament.These names will then be submitted for approval at the General Assembly.Following the oath-taking ceremony, President Erdoğan has asked Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to form a new government after they met at the Presidential Palace at 5 p.m. local time [1500 GMT]. The current Cabinet will continue its duties until the formation of the new government.According to the official election results, the Justice and Development (AK) Party secured 317 seats in the 550-member Grand National Assembly.The CHP came in second, claiming 134 seats while the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) secured 59 seats and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) claimed 40 seats.