Election for parliament speaker goes to 3rd round
ANKARA (DİHA) - Turkey’s 550-seat parliament failed to elect a new speaker on June 30 as no candidate managed to receive 367 votes.
The AKP candidate, İsmet Yılmaz, led the two rounds that took place on the first day. The first two rounds of voting were scheduled for June 30, with candidates requiring the support of at least 367 members of parliament in the 550-seat assembly in the first two votes.
The first round started at 3 p.m. and 545 deputies voted. The AKP candidate and incumbent Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz received 256 votes, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate and its former chair Deniz Baykal received 125 votes, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) candidate and former Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) head Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu received 81 votes. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) candidate and former AKP deputy and founding member Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat also received 81 votes.
The AKP now has 258 seats in parliament, the CHP has 132 seats, while the MHP and HDP both have 80 seats.
In the second round, the number of votes for AKP nominee Yılmaz remained the same, while CHP nominee Baykal's votes increased to 128. Both the MHP's İhsanoğlu and the HDP's Fırat lost one vote each and dropped to 80.
A third round of voting will be held on July 1, with the winner requiring 276 votes. In the fourth and final round, the candidate with the most votes will be elected speaker.
(nt)
