Parliament elects its new speaker

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Justice and Development Party (AKP) İstanbul MP Numan Kurtulmuş has been elected the new Speaker of the Parliament yesterday evening (June 7) in the third round of voting. Kurtulmuş was elected with 321 votes. 

The first round

None of the candidates were able to receive the 400 votes necessary to be elected in the first round of voting in the session.

Where 586 MPs voted to elect the Speaker of the Parliament for the new period, 317 votes were cast for Kurtulmuş of AKP, 131 for the Republican People's Party (CHP) Ankara MP Tekin Bingöl, 51 for Green and Left Party (YSP) Adana MP Tülay Hatımoğulları Oruç, 42 for Good (İYİ) Party İstanbul MP Cihan Paçacı, 16 for Democracy and Progress (DEVA) Party İstanbul MP Mustafa Yeneroğlu, 20 for Future (Gelecek) Party Antalya MP Serap Yazıcı Özbudun, 3 for Workers Party of Turkey (TİP) Hatay MP Can Atalay, and six votes were counted as void in the first round. 

The third round

When the two thirds majority (400 votes) could not be reached in the second round either, the third round of the voting was held. Receiving 321 votes in this voting, Kurtulmuş was elected the new Parliamentary Speaker with a simple majority. 

Kurtulmuş addressed the session after being elected the Speaker. He said that "the presence of 16 political parties in the parliament" was a richness. He added that  he was taking it as his mission to save the Parliament from being a venue where people fight, or even discuss loudly or insult one another, and speak against one another marginalizing the opponents."

Numan Kurtulmuş

Numan Kurtulmuş is 64 years old and a father of three. AKP Vice Chairperson Kurtulmuş has served as Deputy Prime Minister in the 62nd, 63rd and 64th governments and Minister of Culture and Tourism in the 65th government of Turkey. 

He completed secondary school in at İmam Hatip High School and his university education at İstanbul University, and postgraduate studies in this university and later in the US. He became a professor at the İstanbul University. 

Having started his political career in the Merit (Fazilet) Party, Kurtulmuş joined the Felicity (Saadet) Party in 2001 after the Merit Party was closed with the decision of the Constitutional Court. He was elected the president of the party in 2008. In 2010 he left the party to found the People's Voice (HAS) Party. In 2012 HAS Party joined the AKP.

(AEK/PE)