Gül’s first meeting, with main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, took place yesterday evening at the Çankaya presidential palace. Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli and pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş will also meet with the president today. Gül was expected to receive Bahçeli at 11 a.m. and Demirtaş at 2:30 p.m.
Sources close to the presidency said Gül’s meetings with the opposition leaders are a continuation of his previous talks with various state leaders.
Last week, President Gül hosted Supreme Court of Appeals President Hasan Gerçeker and Council of State President Mustafa Birden separately for an exchange of views on a judicial reform package the government plans to introduce. Gül also hosted Constitutional Court President Haşim Kılıç last Wednesday to discuss the same matter.
Gül also had an extraordinary summit with Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday at the Çankaya presidential palace in the wake of a fresh wave of detentions and arrests of senior military officers as part of an investigation into the Sledgehammer plan, allegedly devised by military to spark a coup d’état.
Recent developments in the country, including the government’s constitutional reform plans, are expected to dominate the president’s meetings this week. The CHP and the MHP have announced that they will not lend their support to the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) efforts. The BDP said it would cooperate with the government on the condition that decreasing the 10 percent election threshold for parliamentary representation is included in the package.
Speaking to CNNTürk, CHP spokesperson Mustafa Özyürek said judicial reform was expected to be discussed at the meeting with Baykal. Özyürek reiterated that his party opposes constitutional changes affecting the structure of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) and the Constitutional Court.
