AK Party deputy Mustafa Şentop reelected as Parliament speaker

Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop is hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, June 17, 2020. (AA Photo)

by DAILY SABAH

Jul 07, 2020 7:44 pm

The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) nominee Mustafa Şentop was reelected as Parliament chair on Tuesday for one more term.

Şentop was elected as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly for the new period by receiving the majority’s approval with 328 of the votes in the election that 557 deputies voted in.

AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced Şentop as their joint candidate for the election, while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) nominated Ankara Deputy Haluk Koç as its candidate. The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) nominated Istanbul Deputy Erol Katırcıoğlu, and the Good Party's (IP) nominated Gaziantep Deputy Hüseyin Filizoğlu. Meanwhile, the Workers' Party of Turkey nominated its chairman, Erkan Baş, as its candidate.

CHP’s Koç, meanwhile, received 134 of the votes, and Katırcıoğlu received 51. Seven votes were invalid in the election that was conducted through a secret ballot in several rounds. IP’s Filiz also received 37 votes.

The AK Party and MHP have 340 lawmakers in total, while the CHP has 138, IP has 37, HDP has 58 and the Workers' Party has two seats in Parliament.

The Turkish Parliament speakers' duties include representation of the Parliament abroad, ensuring healthy debates at the Parliament and preventing issues, and inspecting parliamentary commissions and reporting to the General Assembly.

Şentop served as the member of Parliament for Istanbul in the 24, 25 and 26 legislative terms and for Tekirdağ in the 27 legislative term. On Feb. 24, 2019, he was elected as the 29th speaker of the Grand National Assembly (TBMM).

Before his current duty, Şentop was elected as the member of the party’s Central Decision-Making and Administrative Committee at the fourth and fifth party congresses. He served as deputy chairman of the AK Party from 2012 to 2015.

Şentop served as deputy chairman of the Constitution committee and took charge of the reconciliation committee for the Constitution as the representative of the AK Party. He served as the chairman of the Constitution committee in the 26th legislative term.