Proposal to abolish interviews in public sector hiring rejected by AKP-MHP votes

In the parliamentary session on Tuesday (October 3), the proposal to eliminate interviews in public sector hiring, which was brought to the agenda by the opposition but was among the election promises of the government-supporting parties AKP and MHP, was rejected with the votes of AKP and MHP members of parliament.

What the President and the Minister had said

Among the election promises of the AKP was the abolition of interviews in public sector hiring, and Minister of National Education Yusuf Tekin had stated that it would be "50% interview, 50% KPSS score." President Erdoğan later said, "If I made such a promise in my election promises, we will move forward with a new roadmap by discussing it with the Ministers of National Education and Interior."

Proposal by the Felicity Party

The group proposal brought to the Parliament on Tuesday by the Felicity Party (SP) to eliminate interviews in personnel recruitment was also rejected with the votes of the AKP and MHP. SP Group Deputy Chairman İsa Mesih Şahin explained the reasons for their proposal, highlighting the grievances of young people who had been victims of interviews. He said, "These young people don't ask for anything from you. They only want justice. They don't ask for favors; they want to compete on equal terms. They want a system where merit, not favoritism, wins. They want the elimination of the nepotistic interview system. They want the President to keep his promise made before the Assembly."

"Let the deserving ones succeed"

Şahin, who said, "Let the deserving ones succeed, that's our only concern," summarized his party's solution proposal: "Interviews should be abolished, and objective criteria-based exams should be introduced for public sector employment and promotions within the profession."

İYİ Party: "Three times as many candidates invited in order to appoint supporters"

İYİ Party Kayseri MP, Dursun Ataş, said that the interview practice is nothing more than a "trap built with laws." He pointed out the need to call three times as many candidates to interviews to be able to appoint supporters who had received low scores. Ataş stated, "In the end, while qualified young people who have worked hard for years, earned 90-95 points in exams, and are not politically favored are eliminated in interviews, those with just 70 points and political connections are placed in state positions using the interview trap." He added that as a result, "our qualified young people are flocking to European countries."

Green Left Party:

Speaking on behalf of the Green Left Party, Beritan Güneş Altın said that the method of "interview" in the literature is called "nepotism," meaning "favoritism towards relatives, friends, and supporters." Güneş reminded that beyond AKP's favoritism, in some ministries, it is claimed that appointment processes in bureaucracy require membership in a certain sect or community. Güneş explained that the interview method had become a structural problem and that the promise to abolish interviews was one of the unfulfilled promises of the AKP, not only related to the interview system but also in various other areas.

CHP: "Just because they graduated from Imam-Hatip schools..."

The Republican People's Party (CHP) Tekirdağ MP, Nurten Yontar, said, "We see supporters of the palace government in every public institution where entry is based on interviews." She stated that educated young people who score 95-100 in written exams are eliminated in interviews just because they are not supporters. She emphasized the injustice of eliminating these young people in interviews just because they are not supporters. She said, "It is our duty to protect the rights and justice of these children. Let no one take someone else's right anymore. Let there be justice for everyone."

AKP: "Interview is a selection technique"

Speaking on behalf of the AKP, Orhan Yeğin, a Deputy from Ankara, stated that "interview" is a selection technique aimed at measuring certain aspects such as candidates' behavior and attitudes, communication skills, intelligence, comprehension abilities, judgment, perceptual speed, and expression fluency, as well as evaluating their interest in the profession and past experiences to select the most suitable and qualified person for the institution. He claimed that discussions about interviews were brought to the agenda by "some circles who enjoy slandering the government."

Rejection

The proposal was rejected in the parliament with the votes of the AKP-MHP bloc.

Erdoğan makes same election promise: To abolish oral interviews for public employment

11 April 2023

(AEK/PE)