Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has said the state of emergency (OHAL) that was declared in Turkey in the aftermath of a failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016 has deactivated Parliament, in a letter to Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman.
“The Parliament has been deactivated by OHAL practices. Democracy cannot be consolidated by the parliamentary bylaws,” said Kılıçdaroğlu in his letter, rejecting Kahraman’s call for a meeting to discuss a new parliamentary bylaw, CNNTürk reported.
On Monday, Kahraman called on leaders of the country’s four political parties to gather in a meeting on Thursday to in a bid to harmonize the parliamentary bylaws with a constitutional reform package, which was approved in a referendum on April 16 and introduced an executive presidency in Turkey.
The Turkish government has extended the state of emergency for several times and it is still in effect. The state of emergency allows the government to issue government decrees that have the force of the law and do not need to be approved by Parliament.