Only 154 of 3,553 Parliamentary Questions Answered by Ministry of Justice

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Parliamentary Deputy Speaker Süreyya Sadi Bilgiç has answered the Parliamentary question of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Hakkari MP Sait Dede about the number of Parliamentary questions submitted to ministries and Vice President and left unanswered by them.

Accordingly, while the Ministry of Justice has responded to 154 of 3,553 Parliamentary questions in the current 27th legislative period, 334 of 2,078 Parliamentary questions have been answered by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services in the same period.

Commenting on the Parliamentary questions left unanswered, HDP MP Dede has argued that "it is an open indication of how the Parliament and the MPs have been passivized by the Presidential Government System," which has been in force in Turkey since June 24, 2017.

Bylaw: They need to be answered in 15 days

Sait Dede addressed his Parliamentary question to Parliamentary Speaker Mustafa Şentop on May 7, 2020.

Referring to the Article 99 of the Parliamentary Bylaw, which stipulates that written questions shall be answered within 15 days the latest after they are sent by Vice Presidents and Ministers, Dede asked nine questions, including a question about the number of Parliamentary questions submitted to the Ministry of Interior and left unanswered by the ministry.

In response to this Parliamentary question, Parliamentary Vice Speaker Bilgiç has shared the following figures with Dede:

By political parties

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) submitted 1,208 Parliamentary questions in total; 784 of them have been answered while 451 have remained unanswered and nine are still in process.

HDP submitted 704 Parliamentary questions in total and only nine of these Parliamentary questions have been answered. While 657 have been left unanswered, 38 questions are still processed.

The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), which forms the People's Alliance with the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), addressed 31 questions in total. While 15 of them have been answered, 16 of them have not been responded by the relevant ministries or vice president.

As for the İYİ Party, which forms the Nation's Alliance with the CHP, it asked 188 Parliamentary questions, 79 of which have not been answered so far. While 188 questions have received an answer, three are still processed.

By addressees

When considered by addresses, namely ministries or Vice President Fuat Oktay, some highlights from the answer are as follows:

Vice President Fuat Oktay - 6,359 Parliamentary questions in total (2 withdrawn, 3,501 answered, 2,802 left unanswered, 54 still in process)

Ministry of Justice - 3,553 Parliamentary questions submitted in total (154 answered, 3,274 left unanswered, 125 still in process)

Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services - 2,078 questions submitted in total (334 answered, 1,701 left unanswered, 43 still in process)

Ministry of Environment and Urbanization - 1,701 questions submitted in total (1,064 answered, 620 left unanswered, 17 still in process)

Ministry of Foreign Affairs - 776 Parliamentary questions submitted in total (717 answered, 57 left unanswered, 2 still in process)

Ministry of Interior - 2,143 Parliamentary questions submitted in total (917 answered, 1,176 left unanswered, 50 still in process)

Ministry of Health - 2,265 Parliamentary questions submitted in total (1 withdrawn, 400 answered, 1,813 left unanswered, 51 still in process)

'Parliament turned into a notary public'

Commenting on the figures shared by the Parliamentary Vice Speaker, HDP MP Dede has underlined that in a Parliamentary system, the second most important duty of parliaments, after legislation, is the task of inspection and this task is realized through Parliamentary questions.

"The Presidential Government System has dealt a heavy blow to both legislation and means of inspection," Dede has protested and added, "The legislative proposals drafted by the executive are passed by the commissions without considering the opinions and recommendations of the opposition, listening to experts or making even the tiniest change."

Concluding his remarks, Dede has said, "We are faced with a system where the legislature has been deactivated and the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has been turned into an accelerated notary public.

"It needs to be known that people do not favor this system. The need for a democratic, pluralistic and responsible parliament where the the opposition's duty of inspection is reinforced is in place and indispensable." (AÖ/SD)