Detained Ergenekon suspects may become lawmakers at Turkish parliament

PanARMENIAN.Net - A number of suspects currently in jail on charges of having links to Ergenekon, a clandestine network of state bureaucrats, civil society figures and criminal elements that allegedly plotted a coup, are likely to leave prison to become lawmakers in Turkey’s new parliament following the June 12 vote.

According to Today’s Zaman, whether they will be given seats in parliament is not clear yet, though, awaiting approval from the courts where they face trial.

Most of the Ergenekon suspects were named as candidates by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Journalist Mustafa Balbay, running from the CHP stronghold of İzmir, appears set to win a seat in parliament, according to the latest count of the votes.

Mehmet Haberal, a professor who has been detained as part of the Ergenekon investigation, also looks set to win the CHP a seat from Zonguldak.

Former Erzincan Chief Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner, who is a defendant in the ongoing trial of alleged members of Ergenekon, ran from Denizli on the CHP list and won. The CHP received 32 percent of the vote in Denizli and won two seats in parliament.

Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) President Sinan Aygün, who was earlier detained as part of the ongoing Ergenekon case and later released, won a parliamentary seat from Ankara's second electoral district on the CHP list. The CHP received 26.7 percent of the vote from Ankara's second electoral district.

Journalist Tuncay Özkan, a defendant in the Ergenekon case, ran from Istanbul as an independent candidate but failed to make it into parliament. The CHP refused to put his name on its list.