Akp Candidate Leads In Elections For Parliament Speaker In First Round

- Turkey’s parliament is electing a new speaker today in a vote that could provide clues as to a future coalition government.

The first two rounds of voting are scheduled for June 30, with candidates requiring the support of at least 367 members of parliament in the 550-seat assembly in the first two votes.

The first round started at 3 p.m. and 545 deputies voted.

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate and incumbent Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz received 256 votes, the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate and its former chair Deniz Baykal received 125 votes, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) candidate and former Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) head Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu received 81 votes. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) candidate and former AKP deputy and founding member Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat also received 81 votes.

The AKP lost its single-party majority in the June 7 parliamentary elections. It now has 258 seats in parliament, the CHP has 132 seats, while the MHP and HDP both have 80 seats.

The second round of voting is now taking place.

If necessary, a third round of voting will be held on July 1, with the winner requiring 276 votes. In the fourth and final round, the candidate with the most votes will be elected speaker.

Last week, the CHP declared that the selection of a parliamentary speaker had no connection to the formation of a future coalition government, but AKP maneuvers suggest otherwise amid moves to shape a power-sharing deal.

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