The Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) announced on Thursday it will support the Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate for speaker of the Turkish parliament instead of nominating someone from the party, BBC Turkish service reported.
Previously, MHP Vice Chairman Mustafa Kalaycı had said the MHP would nominate its own candidate for the parliament’s speaker post on June 26.
The vote for speaker will take place on July 13.
According to a new executive presidential system of governance, narrowly adopted in a referendum last year, the parliament will vote twice for a speaker during the five-year legislative term. The first speaker elected will serve for two years, while the second will be in office for three years.
In the first round of voting, election will be possible if any candidate receives the support of 400 deputies. If no one achieves that support in two rounds, 301 votes will be sufficient for election in the third round.
The Supreme Election Board (YSK) has not yet announced the official results from the June 24 general election; however, the AKP and MHP have a total of 344 seats in parliament, 295 and 49, respectively.
The MHP’s support indicates an AKP deputy will be the next speaker of parliament. According to the T24 news website, the strongest candidate for the post is the last prime minister, Binali Yıldırım, whose position was abolished by the switch to the new system of governance.