Turkish parliament to oversee anti-terror bid: Speaker

ANKARA

The Turkish parliament will swiftly establish a monitoring committee to oversee the implementation of the “terror-free Türkiye” project in the new legislative year that will start on Oct. 1, the assembly’s speaker has said.

“With the opening of the parliament, the monitoring commission will be established quickly and will fulfill its responsibility regarding supervising the process,” Numan Kurtulmuş said at a press conference on Sept. 25.

According to a framework law adopted by lawmakers in early August, the parliament has to create a new committee to monitor the implementation of the “terror-free Türkiye” project in the name of the Turkish people.

Launched in late 2024, the anti-terror bid stipulates the full disarmament and dissolution of PKK. In case all the weapons are laid down and the disarmament process is completed, the framework law will take effect and postpone legal procedures against certain members of the terror group for five to 10 years.

“The Turkish parliament will have three main responsibilities during this process,” the speaker said, citing them as “monitoring the process through the parliamentary committee, aligning the committee’s activities with the governmental bodies and making legal arrangements if deemed necessary.”

However, Kurtulmuş recalled that the disarmament and dissolution processes should be entirely accomplished and confirmed by the National Security Organization (MGK). He also stressed that PKK members who are mostly located in Iraq should begin soon to hand over their weapons to the Iraqi security institutions.

 New constitution an obligation

On a question, the speaker reiterated that Türkiye should not miss the opportunity to rewrite a fully civilian brand-new constitution.

“It’s time for Türkiye to own a constitution that reflects and embraces all of its people. It’s a must,” he stated.

The speaker stressed that Türkiye urgently needs an inclusive, democratic constitution grounded in human rights, noting that broad political consensus makes this an ideal moment to achieve it.

 Snap election discussions

On a question about the timing of the next presidential and parliamentary elections, Kurtulmuş said the ultimate decision about the date of the polls belongs to the Turkish parliament.

“The authority to call an early election rests solely with parliament, and now is not the time for that discussion,” he said.

Kurtulmuş’s statement comes amid discussions about whether the ruling alliance might opt for early polls in order for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to run for the office for another term. Normally, Erdoğan is ineligible to run for the next presidential elections.

However, if 360 lawmakers vote to dissolve parliament and call elections before May 2028, the president becomes eligible to run for a third consecutive term.