06.06.2026 16:20
CHP headquarters announced that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will hold a group meeting in Parliament on Tuesday. Commenting on the matter, Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş said, 'Mr. Özel held a group meeting. Similarly, it is very clear under the existing legal regulations that the leader of the Republican People's Party can also speak at his own party's group meeting; there is no provision preventing this.'
The Republican People's Party (CHP) shared an official announcement containing the date and time details of the weekly regular TBMM Group Meeting. According to the shared calendar, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will take the podium on Tuesday. This week's CHP group meeting was conducted by CHP Group Chairman Özgür Özel. The final point on the controversial issue was made by TBMM Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş.
"I TAKE GREAT CARE NOT TO BE A PARTY TO THESE ISSUES"
Returning from his visit to Finland and Sweden, Kurtulmuş answered journalists' questions on the agenda, using the following statements regarding the CHP Group Meeting:
"I want to express that I have been following the contradiction within the Republican People's Party with sadness, frankly. As the Speaker of the Parliament, I take great care not to take sides in these internal matters from the very beginning. If you notice, I do not speak much, and I try to choose my words very carefully. After all, the position of the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey is limited by the Parliament's Internal Regulations and parties' internal group regulations. We have to make our decisions based on the documents that come from there.
"THE LEGAL LEGISLATION IS VERY CLEAR"
There are documents submitted by the CHP General Headquarters and the CHP Group Chairmanship. Last week, Mr. Özel, as Group Chairman, held a group meeting signed by the CHP Parliamentary Group Deputy Chairs. Similarly, the upcoming legal legislation is very clear that the Chairman of the Republican People's Party or the chairman of any party can speak at their own party's group meeting; there is no provision preventing this. Therefore, we have to act accordingly.
We have witnessed a similar practice in the past. Mr. Murat Karayalçın was the Chairman of the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) but not a member of parliament. Despite Mr. Karayalçın, Aydın Güven Gürkan was elected as the Parliamentary Group Chairman. The then-TBMM Speaker, the late Cindoruk, was asked how to proceed regarding this issue. Cindoruk made his position very clear by stating, 'As the Parliament Presidency, we are not a party to the internal affairs of a political party,' and he accepted the document from the group chairmanship while then-Chairman Mr. Murat Karayalçın gave a speech in the parliamentary group.
"THEY SHOULD NOT TRY TO MAKE THE PARLIAMENT PRESIDENCY A PARTY TO THIS ISSUE"
From the perspective of the Parliament Presidency, the matter was clear yesterday and is clear today. Even a few political commentators should not try to make the Parliament Presidency a party to this issue. The place to resolve this matter is the corporate identity of the Republican People's Party. If the Parliament Presidency can contribute within the framework of legislation, laws, and decisions, we are sincerely ready to support the Republican People's Party in resolving its own issue.
There have been correspondences with the TBMM General Secretariat; I followed them during my official visits abroad. We will continue to examine in detail which documents have arrived, but from the legal framework perspective regarding the legislation we have, the situation is as I have summarized.
"I EXPECT SENSITIVITY FROM COMMENTATORS AND JOURNALIST COLLEAGUES"
Criticism is natural in politics. But everyone should know that the Parliament Presidency cannot and should not become the agenda of daily politics, political polemics, or more explicitly, political gossip. I personally take great care and effort to ensure this does not happen. Similarly, I expect sensitivity from commentator and journalist colleagues within the framework of democratic traditions.
I know very well what I will and will not do. I am aware of the authorities granted by the Parliament's Internal Regulations and parties' internal group regulations. In this sense, speaking from the perspective of internal parliamentary legislation, there is no discretion left to the TBMM Presidency regarding the internal workings of any party in the Parliament."
Details are coming...