November 18, 2015•Update: November 18, 2015
ANKARA
The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party on Wednesday announced its nomination for parliamentary speaker.
Istanbul lawmaker Ismail Kahraman will be formally put forward for the post on Thursday, party spokesman Omer Celik said following a meeting of party’s Central Executive Board.
Kahraman is a veteran AK Party member from Rize, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s home province.
He previously worked at the labor and culture ministries as, respectively, undersecretary and minister.
Earlier, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) named high-profile deputy Yusuf Halacoglu as its candidate for parliamentary speaker, the second highest position in the Turkish state.
The deadline for the post is midnight on Nov. 21. The speaker is voted for by the 550 deputies of the Grand National Assembly. In the first two rounds of voting, successful candidates need the support of at least 367 lawmakers.
In a third round of voting, a minimum of 276 votes is needed. If a fourth round is necessary the candidate with the highest number of votes is elected.
The AK Party holds 317 seats in parliament while the Republican People’s Party (CHP) has 134 seats, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) 59 seats and the MHP 40.
On Tuesday, Erdogan officially asked Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu to form a new government following the Nov. 1 general election.
