Parliament passes budget amid criticism from opposition

Photo: AA

Click to read the article in Turkish

Parliament approved the country's 2021 budget on early Saturday (December 19) following a 12-day marathon session in the general assembly.

Parliament Speaker Mustafa Şentop announced the budget was supported by 316 lawmakers while 193 voted against it in the 584-seat general assembly.

Lawmakers from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) approved the budget.

Opposition MPs criticized the budget, saying that it ignored the people's needs and the pandemic.

"This budget is neather prepared for the pandemic nor the strong social state that is needed," said Özgür Özel, the deputy parliamentary group chair of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). "This budget is a budget that doesn't allocate resources for the 130 million doses of [Covid] vaccines."

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy Remziye Tosun said, "We ... don't accept this budget that is prepared for the partisans. People's budget isn't included in this budget that is prepared to meet the needs of the war lobby."

In the budget, the government has allocated 211.4 billion Turkish lira (26.5 billion USD) for education.

Budget expenditures were projected at 1.346 trillion liras (169.6 billion USD). Also, non-interest expenses come to 1.166 trillion liras (147 billion USD).

The revenues were projected at 1.101 billion liras (138.8 million USD) and tax revenues at 922.7 billion liras (116.3 billion USD). The budget deficit for next year was predicted at 245 billion liras (~31 billion USD).

The budget for 2021 will be the 19th budget of the ruling AKP government and the second under the presidential system. (EMK/VK)