Parliament takes April 23 break on amendment package

The last vote on the package was on Thursday, when three more articles of the package were passed. A total of 11 articles out of 30 had been passed as of Friday morning.

On Thursday an article of the reform package introducing the Ombudsman’s Office -- an official to solve disputes outside the judicial system -- was passed. This was Article 9 of the package, passed with 334 yeses, 70 nays and two undecided.

The article amends Article 74 of the Constitution, which regulates the right to petition, introducing an office of public inspection. This institution will be attached to the administration of Parliament and will oversee general complaints from citizens about the procedural operations of public institutions. The ombudsman will be elected for four year terms via secret ballot in Parliament.

The 10th article in the package was also passed on Thursday, with 335 votes for and 70 against. Altogether, 408 deputies voted in this ballot with three voting “undecided.” This article abolishes the last paragraph of Article 84 of the Constitution, on “dismissal of deputy status.” With the change, deputies will not lose their membership in Parliament until the end of their term.

Article 11 of the package also passed on Thursday and was approved with 338 votes for and 70 against. Four-hundred nine deputies voted on the article, with one vote being declared void.

This change amends the terms of office for those elected to the Parliament Presidency Council for the first time. First-time selectees will serve for two years, while those elected a second time will serve until the end of Parliament’s term. Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin adjourned the session after the vote on the 11th article until Friday 2 p.m., when Parliament convened with a special agenda to mark National Sovereignty and Children’s Day.

No proposal to CHP

Meanwhile, Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chairman Suat Kılıç said news stories in the press that alleged his party had proposed to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) that the articles in the package that change the structure of higher judicial bodies be split off and referred to a referendum as a separate item were false. “We have not made any such proposal to any party.” He said the news story was purposefully manufactured to serve a particular agenda. “If the source of that story is the CHP, it is an attempt to water down the constitutional package.”

Earlier articles passed in package

Voting on the package started on Monday. The first article included in the amendment package was passed with 336 votes for, 70 against. This amendment changes Article 10 of the Constitution on gender equality. The change allows affirmative action for women as well as the elderly and the disabled and ends the legal possibility of affirmative action being interpreted as a violation of gender equality. The second article also passed late Monday night, amending Article 20 of the Constitution on the individual right to privacy. It was passed with 337 votes for and 68 votes against.

The third article of the package was passed on Tuesday night with 337 votes for and 71 against in a secret round of voting in which 408 deputies participated. This article changes Article 23 of the Constitution on freedom of travel and makes it much more difficult to issue international travel bans on citizens facing criminal proceedings. The fourth article was passed with 336 votes for and 69 against. One vote was canceled. The fourth article changes Article 41 of the Constitution, on the protection of family, and adds a clause to the Constitution asserting that the state is responsible for protecting children from all kinds of abuse. The fifth article of the package was also passed with 333 votes for and 70 against. This article changes Article 51 of the Constitution, on the right to unionize. With the change, an employee will have the right to be a member of more than one union in the same field.

An article making changes to the Law on Political Parties and amending Article 69 of the Constitution was passed on Thursday. With the change, if the Supreme Court of Appeals’ chief prosecutor wants to demand the closure of a political party, Parliament’s permission will be necessary to proceed with the case. The article was passed with 337 votes for and 72 against.

The two other articles passed in Parliament on Wednesday night were Articles 6 and 7 of the package. Article 6 makes a change to Article 53 of the Constitution, allowing the right to collective bargaining for public agency employees. This article was passed with 336 votes for and 70 against.

Article 7, passed by 335 votes for and 69 against, makes changes to Article 54 on the right to strike. The change frees the unions of responsibility for damage to a workplace during a strike whether this damage is the result of the voluntary or involuntary actions of strikers.

The CHP and the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) are boycotting the voting. The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) is attending but voting against the articles. The ruling AK Party has 336 seats, but Şahin cannot vote as he is the parliament speaker. The CHP has 97 seats, the MHP 69 and the BDP 20. There are 12 independent deputies in Parliament, while the Democratic Left Party (DSP) has six deputies. If an article receives less than 330 votes, it will be removed from the package. If all goes according to the AK Party’s plan, Turkey will have a referendum on the package in July.