Sixtieth Government Receives Vote of Confidence

The Turkish Parliament assembled yesterday (5 September). In an open ballot which 535 MPs took part in, there were 337 votes in favour and 197 against the new government. There was one abstention.

After the ballot, the parliament went into recess until 1 October.

Uras: Death of workers contradicts government promises 

Meanwhile, Ufuk Uras, the Istanbul MP for the Freedom and Solidarity Party (ÖDP), has arranged a press briefing in order to outline his thoughts on the recently announced government programme.

"[The government programme] talks about arrangements to decrease the number of human dramas as a result of work-related illnesses and accidents. While these sentences were being read, the fifth worker died at the shipbuilders' yard in Tuzla. Those who have died in the yard contradict Tayyip Erdogan's actions."

Uras also called for an immediate ratification of the additional protocol of the Convention against Torture.

Other criticisms he made were:

Inequality will continue 

• The term "equality" is only used once in the programme, in the phrase "legal equality". There is no orientation or aim in the government vision of trying to abolish social, economical, cultural, social and political inequalities.
• There are no realistic solutions to unemployment, the deterioration of the social security system, the problem of people who are not registered, social inequality or tax injustices

• In the whole programme there is no mention of Article 301 which prepared the ground for journalist Hrant Dink’s murder. With the change in the Law on Police Duties and Authorities, there have been deaths in custody and in prisons.

• There is no proposal for a solution to the Kurdish question. Politics in this area must rid itself of the discourse of a struggle with terrorism and step out of the shadows of the armed forces.
• The demands and sensitivities of Alevis have not been considered. The following sentence [taken from the programme] proves that: “The Department of Religious Affairs has been accepted and is respected by all sections of society.”

• Energy production based on fuel oil and a transportation policy based on road networks are continuing.

Uras made his press statement before the ballot. When asked how he vote, he said:

“Seeing as I am not a representative of a multinational lobby […] I am not going to give my vote of confidence. This programme is not acceptable for the citizens who live off their labour or for political approaches which consider the public good a priority.” (TK/AG)