03.08.2026 19:30
CHP made a striking application to the Turkish Grand National Assembly Presidency. In the application, it was requested that all rooms and corridors used by the New Party, founded by Özgür Özel who left CHP, be allocated to them. The application stated, 'The change in the number of deputies affects the seating arrangement in the General Assembly and the measure of service need; however, it does not establish a succession rule that would automatically transfer the existing group spaces allocated to political parties to the new party.'
CHP filed an application with the TBMM Presidency for the return of the office and corridors used by Özgür Özel and the deputies who left the party to found a new party, which they had used in the Turkish Grand National Assembly. The application emphasized that the departing deputies cannot directly take over the physical spaces belonging to their former party.
"CHP'S GROUP FLOOR MUST BE PROTECTED WITHIN THE SCOPE OF INSTITUTIONAL CONTINUITY"
In the petition submitted to the Parliamentary administration, it was stated that a change in the number of deputies could only affect the seating arrangement in the General Assembly, and that there is no rule that automatically transfers party spaces to the new formation. CHP demanded that all group spaces previously allocated to it be reassigned to the party.
In the application, which requested that "CHP's currently used group floor, deputy group chairperson offices, meeting rooms, and support units should be protected within the scope of CHP's institutional continuity," the following statements were included:
"The legislation assigns the regulation of working spaces to the TBMM administration; there is no rule of automatic transfer or 'the room belongs to whichever side holds the majority.'
"SPACES IN THE TBMM ARE NOT PARTY ASSETS"
The seating arrangement in the General Assembly and the allocation of administrative spaces within the building are not the same process. In the former, political weight and visibility come to the fore; in the latter, continuity of public service, physical capacity, and administrative decision come to the fore.
In documented strong practices, new/separate places have been found for new groups, partitioning-construction has been carried out, and scattered or phased solutions have been implemented.
The spaces allocated for the service of political parties under the roof of the TBMM are not party assets; nor do they carry a quality of a 'migrating' right along with the deputies.
Preserving the current use allocated to CHP is not a property claim; it is a demand for continued institutional interlocutorship, service continuity, and stable administrative practice.
"IT DOES NOT CREATE AN AUTOMATIC RIGHT OF SUCCESSION"
The formation of a new group does not automatically create a right of succession over the rooms and corridors of the former party. In previous practices, there is no such automatic transfer mechanism.
The working needs of the new group are separately addressed by the TBMM Presidency. In 2023, for Felicity Party, new corridors were designated and offices were vacated; in 2005, for Motherland Party, former Felicity Party rooms and rooms used for institutional duties were reallocated.
There is no written and absolute rule stating 'the source party always retains its existing rooms.' However, there is also no TBMM practice indicating that a new group has an automatic right to request the rooms of the party it left."