Onanç: 112 CHP MPs Voting Against Have to Apply to Constitutional Court

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The bill as to the Article 83 of the Constitution regulating the parliamentary immunity passed on May 20 at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) General Assembly. In this period, the most disputed party was the People’s Republican Party (CHP) with its attitude.

Especially the party’s leader, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s words that “AKP’s (Justice and Development Party) proposal of parliamentary immunity in unconstitutional but we’ll say ‘Aye” has sparked debates.

“CHP has given the impression that it’s confused”

One of CHP’s former Vice Chairs, Gülseren Onanç summarizes the CHP’s stance throughout the parliamentary immunity debate with the words “CHP in this period has given the impression that it’s confused”.

The causes of this impression according to Onanç is, “On one hand it votes ‘aye’ to not generate the impression that it supports terror, on the other it mentions unconstitutional feature of the proposal”.

“Whenever it is Kurdish question”

“Whenever a matter touching Kurdish question comes in, an indecisive condition shows up. One wing in the CHP tells that we have to stay out of it. It was the same during the resolution process, and it is again the same when AKP dictates an unconstitutional bill”.

Onanç comments the last minute change of mind as follows: “I think it results from not having a clear stance. I was of the opinion that we should have voted ‘against’ and explain this properly to public. We had so many strong arguments to present. We could have gone to referendum and explain why we voted against. I don’t understand why we had to fear the referendum”.

“Liability of MP”

She evaluated the HDP’s call to CHP following the voting as follows:

“112 CHP MPs voted ‘against’. Those MPs have to apply to the Constitutional Court themselves or if some of them changed their mind, they shall support the HDP. An unconstitutional law must be taken to the Constitutional Court. This is the liability of MP”. (HK/TK)