Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
A court has ordered the main opposition Chair Özgür Özel to pay damages to Justice Minister Akın Gürlek in a ruling that did little to clarify how many properties the minister actually owns.
Muğla and Manisa mayors denied switching to the AKP as operations against CHP and Yeni Party municipalities continued and courts delivered a string of rulings.
Despite opposition objections, the ruling AKP and its ally MHP hold a sufficient majority in parliament to pass the agreement.
The ruling party has rapidly rolled out compensation for some victims of the stock market scandal that is rocking the government, and cut ties with one former minister, while the main opposition Yeni Party links two sitting ministers to the affair.
Clouds are gathering over opposition politicians. Each new development makes them darker. Judicial rulings block opposition parties at every turn.
A new legislative proposal submitted by ruling party AKP lawmakers aims to allow foreign online travel agencies, including Booking.com, to return to the Turkish market under a structured legal framework after nearly nine years of suspension.
The opposition's advantage in Istanbul's Municipal Council is decreasing while the ruling AKP and MHP are increasing their numbers.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was installed as the CHP's party chair by the court's absolute nullity ruling on May 21, addressed the parliamentary group on Aug. 4, more than two months after he was placed in this duty.
Following the “absolute nullity” ruling ousting Özgür Özel from the CHP leadership, the expected finally happened: 91 lawmakers led by Özel left the CHP to establish the Yeni Party.
The 'two-camp' character of Turkey's media — a divide that long predated the AKP but sharpened under its rule — is shifting after the 'absolute nullity' ruling that is changing the dynamics of Turkish politics.
Özgür Özel, ousted as CHP chair by a court ruling, is preparing to set up a new party even as legal threats mount against him and his allies. The party is likely to be called Yeni Party (New Party), Özel said. 'We are working on the name and the logo. The name has started to become clear. There is a generally accepted name, while the logo is still being worked on. For now, let's call it 'Yeni Party.' Until there is a new name, let's say Yeni Party,' Özel told SZC TV. 'The statute and the program are being written. The official step will be taken at the end of July or the beginning of August,' Özel told the channel at parliament ahead of a special session marking the 10th anniversary of the failed coup attempt.
The DEM Party is intensifying pressure on the AKP/MHP ruling alliance to pass the framework law underpinning Turkey's Kurdish peace process before parliament enters for its summer recess — even as the party struggles to extract details of the draft from the AKP. The push has produced a flurry of contacts. İmralı Delegation members Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, together with Faik Özgür Erol, met AKP Deputy Chair Efkan Ala and AKP Group Chair Abdullah Güler on July 15, and MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli at his office in parliament the following day. Asked about the talks, Buldan declined to elaborate: 'We will not give information on the content.'