Newly Elected Members Of Parliament To Take Oath At First Session

- New members of the 550-seat Turkish parliament will take their oaths at the first session of the national assembly today.

In line with customs, after having taken over from outgoing Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek, as the eldest deputy, Deniz Baykal of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) will chair the first session, which will begin at 3.00 p.m.

The first session will probably be one of the longest sessions of the 25th term of Parliament of the Republic of Turkey, expected to take about 10 hours in total as oath-taking lasts for around one minute for each deputy.

According to parliament’s rules of procedure, deputies cannot take part in parliamentary proceedings until they have taken the following oath at the first sitting of the newly elected General Assembly:

“I swear upon my honor and integrity, before the great Turkish Nation, to safeguard the existence and independence of the state, the indivisible integrity of the Country and the Nation, and the absolute sovereignty of the Nation; to remain loyal to the supremacy of law, to the democratic and secular Republic, and to Atatürk’s principles and reforms; not to deviate from the ideal according to which everyone is entitled to enjoy human rights and fundamental freedoms under peace and prosperity in society, national solidarity and justice, and loyalty to the Constitution.”

The oath-taking session will also give hints about the process to form a viable coalition government, based on tendencies during the election of a new parliament speaker.

Those who want to run for the number two position of the state of the Republic of Turkey have until midnight on June 27 to apply, as the first round of voting will take place on June 28. Contenders have to reach a two-thirds majority in the first two rounds, while a simple majority is sufficient in the third round of voting.

Political party groups are not allowed to nominate a candidate for the election of the speaker, to ensure that the speaker shall be the choice of the assembly as a whole.

As none of the four political parties have a simple majority, the election of the parliament speaker will require a final fourth round of voting, in which the candidate with the most votes will be elected. In this case, a Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate will be elected if the three opposition parties cannot compromise and agree on a name.

President Tayyip Erdoğan has stated more than once that he will give the mandate to form a government after the parliament speaker is elected, meaning the 45-day period for forming a new government will likely begin in the first week of July.