Turkish MPs to hold extraordinary session over corruption claims

PanARMENIAN.Net - Parliament will convene in an extraordinary session Wednesday, March 19 afternoon, as a result of the three opposition parties’ demand to discuss the summary of proceedings on four former Cabinet ministers facing corruption allegations, Hurriyet Daily News reports.

If the meeting reaches the quorum of 184 lawmakers, the General Assembly will discuss the issue. The calls of the main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) call and parliament speaker Cemil Çiçek will be read first. It is still unclear whether the documents of the summary of proceedings will be open to lawmakers or not.

If deputies are not allowed to examine them, then opposition parties will begin discussions to devise an alternative method. The parliament, which is currently closed for recess ahead of the March 30 local elections, will not discuss any other topics.

The CHP will ask for the summary of proceedings to be read at the parliament and submitted to the lawmakers, Akif Hamzaçebi, the deputy group chairman of the party, told reporters on March 18.

The summary of proceedings on four former Cabinet ministers facing allegations of corruption would be subject to confidentiality in parliament, as in the judicial process. MPs therefore cannot be examined until an investigation commission is established at the parliament, Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said.

The extraordinary parliament session represents a landmark development since Dec 17, 2013, when a massive corruption and graft probe engulfing the prime minister, some of his Cabinet members and their sons first went public.

The summary of proceedings about former Economy Minister Zafer Çağlayan, former EU Minister Egemen Bağış, former Interior Minister Muammer Güler and former Urbanization and Environment Planning Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar arrived at the office of the parliamentary speaker two weeks ago.

These proceedings reportedly contain serious claims of corruption regarding these former ministers.

The sons of three ministers were released only recently, pending trial. They are accused of engaging in bribery with Azeri-origin businessman Reza Sarrab worth tens of millions of euros.