The leader of Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, has said Turkey, which underwent a coup attempt on July 15, experienced a real coup on July 20 when the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government received a mandate from the Turkish Parliament to declare a state of emergency.
“Following the abortive coup on July 15, a real coup was staged on July 20. Nobody should forget July 20. It is the date when the authority to declare a state of emergency was taken away from Parliament,” said Kılıçdaroğlu, speaking at the CHP Party Council on Sunday.
The AKP government declared a state of emergency on July 20 following the July 15 coup attempt, which resulted in the killing of more than 240 people and injured a thousand others.
The state of emergency was first declared for a period of three months. It has been extended twice and is still in effect.
The state of emergency gives extraordinary powers to the government and the authority to issue decrees that have the force of the law. Through many such decrees, which are not required to be approved by Parliament, the AKP government has so far taken very controversial steps and among other things purged thousands of people from state bodies over coup charges.
The CHP and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) did not support the government decision to declare a state of emergency in the country. The AKP managed to declare the state of emergency thanks to support from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in the Parliament.