The Turkish Parliament Speaker has moved forward to form a long-anticipated commission as part of the government’s “Terror-Free Turkey” initiative, setting the number of members at 51 and requesting party nominations by July 31, following days of delay and political back-and-forth.
A letter signed by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş was sent on July 25 to all parties represented in the legislature, including the AKP, CHP, DEM Party, MHP, İYİ Party, and Yeni Yol Party, as well as HÜDA PAR, the YRP, TİP, EMEP, DSP, and DP, who are not recognized as a group in parliament but are present with a few lawmakers. The aim was to be inclusive. The letter instructed parties to submit the names of their nominees by 5 p.m. on July 31.
According to the seat allocation, the AKP will hold 21 seats, the CHP 10, the DEM and MHP four each, the İYİ Party and Yeni Yol three each, and the six smaller parties one slot apiece. From the start, the İYİ Party announced that it would not join the commission. Now, it’s unclear how the three seats assigned to the İYİ Party will be reallocated. Although stating its participation will not be without conditions, the CHP insists the commission take decisions with a large majority—either two-thirds or three-fifths.
The formation of the commission comes after weeks of holdup, during which meetings with the group deputy chairs and the Speaker failed to produce an immediate outcome. The body’s composition and title were among the sticking points. Although the Parliament is in summer recess, the commission is expected to operate during the break.
The move follows a symbolic arms-burning ceremony by PKK members in Sulaymaniyah on July 11 and rising expectations for a new peace framework. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called the initiative a historic path and vowed that no sabotage could derail it.
