A Turkish daily on Thursday claimed that the government is planning to dismiss three police chiefs and three police commissioners involved in the corruption investigation which has implicated the government in an attempt to discredit the prestige of the summary of proceedings about four former Cabinet ministers accused of involvement in corruption.
Engin Alan, who was elected to Parliament in 2011 from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), should be released from prison, parliamentary speaker Cemil Çiçek said on April 30.
Alan is being tried under arrest over allegations of links to the Ergenekon coup plot.
Çiçek said Sabahat Tuncel, one of the two charged MPs, is currently free to carry out her legislative responsibilities, but Alan remains in prison. Çiçek stressed, “The case of prisoner Alan is unfair, and this injustice should be rectified,” responding to questions from journalists at Parliament in Ankara.
On April 11, 2014, Mustafa Akyol published in the online news magazine Al-Monitor an insightful article on "pre-emptive authoritarianism" in Turkish politics. The piece, I believe, captures well the dysfunctional nature of Turkish politics today. In this short essay, I will try to show what is wrong with it, and what can be done to correct it, with the ultimate aim or goal of politics being to progressively build a better, more democratic society in Turkey.
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has said a summary of proceedings needs to be prepared about the alleged corruption committed by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
“We are waiting for a summary of proceedings for Erdoğan. We are looking for a courageous, honest prosecutor who feels a responsibility for his country,” CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said at the party's group parliamentary meeting on Tuesday, a reference to a recent corruption probe in which four ex-Cabinet ministers have been implicated.
Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has said he supports Constitutional Court President Haşim Kılıç for his speech last week in which he firmly declared that the court would not take instructions from the executive branch, stating that Kılıç's speech was correct and appropriate, though he questioned why Kılıç took so long to raise the issue of the troubling interventions of the executive branch in the judiciary.
Prominent Constitutional Law Professor and one-time Justice and Development Party (AKP) ally Ergun Özbudun criticized the current stance of the Turkish government.
One of the law experts that the AKP cooperated with in 2007 for the preparation of a new Constitution, Özbudun said it was not him that changed, but the ruling party.
A majority of the 21-seated Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) lawmakers have joined the sister party, Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP).
The move was described by the BDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş as a new phase in “the quest for democratic unity in Turkey.”
“We have to be the common struggle and common voice of all oppressed identities. This is indispensable for us,” Demirtaş said on April 28 at a ceremony on April 28 for this occasion.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül has approved a bill expanding the powers and immunities of the country’s spy agency amid strong reactions from opposition parties which argued that the bill will turn the country into "an intelligence state."
Gül’s office announced that the bill was signed into law by Gül late April 25. The bill was much criticized by the opposition parties on the grounds that it will increase the National Intelligence Organization's (MİT) powers without adequate checks and balances.
President Abdullah Gül, attending the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Adana Commodity Exchange on Thursday, said the debate surrounding the upcoming presidential elections is normal and that the important thing is to follow the correct procedures.
“No risk or lack of foresight should come out of this process,” Gül pointed out in an address to the business community during his half-day visit to Adana. Gül reminded his audience of the problems Turkey had encountered in previous presidential elections.
OVACIK, Turkey — The drive into Communist Turkey is by a picturesque mountain road along the river Munzur. From the capital, Tunceli, it is about 60 kilometers (37 miles) to Ovacik, mainly uphill. At the village entrance, you are greeted by the Turkish national colors with "Welcome to Ovacik." Next to it is the blue village sign with the number of inhabitants: 3,700.
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has emerged as a strong potential candidate for the prime ministry, after President Abdullah Gül’s recent statement appearing to distance him from the role.
The Supreme Electoral Board (YSK) has canceled the results of local elections in the northwestern province of Yalova.
The YSK said that seven votes were cast by people who were not permitted to do so by the law; the body previously canceled the elections in Eskişehir’s Mahmudiye district because of the same reason.
The election will be rerun on June 1.
The cancelation decision was passed in a 9-2 vote at the board.
Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay has declared that “Twitter now toes the line,” after the San Francisco-based social media platform began withholding two accounts that are subject to complaints by Turkey’s political authorities because they violated “personality rights and the right to private life.”
You have to hand it to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He is not one to mince his words whether he is hurling invective at his enemies or laying his future political intentions on the line.
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has prepared a draft bill on a new electoral system based on narrowed constituencies, which is expected to allow it to increase its number of lawmakers by 25.
The AKP is also considering pulling down the current 10 percent parliamentary threshold to 7 or 5 percent. The draft law has to be enacted before Parliament’s scheduled recess on June 12 to be applied during the general elections next year.
Although the occasion was quite non-political, President Abdullah Gül couldn’t escape questions about the August presidential elections, when Turks will directly elect their president for the first time.
“I suppose I haven’t sweated today,” Gül briefly said on April 11, in response to a reporter’s question, after completing the 1.7-kilometer ride in the presidential Çankaya Palace campus, on the occasion of the presentation of the 50th Presidential Cycling Tour of Turkey.
The Constitutional Court partly overturned a controversial judicial bill on April 11, demanding a redefinition of the justice minister’s increased competences.
The bill on the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), drafted by the government as a response to graft allegations, had sparked weeks of debate over concerns on the independence of the judiciary.
The court has overturned the articles in the law regarding new competences conferred to the justice minister.
Parliament is set to begin deliberations today about a bill expanding the powers of Turkey’s spy agency with additional missions both inside and outside the country, formally turning it into an intelligence coordination body that will work directly under the prime minister. Known as the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Law, the proposal was withdrawn in February after President Abdullah Gül demanded major changes to the proposed text.
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