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Turkish Parliament

Turkey extends its presence under UNIFIL in Lebanon

Ankara - Arab Today

A motion to deploy Turkish troops in Lebanon for a further year as part of the UN’s interim force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, was ratified by the Turkish Parliament on Tuesday. It is the 11th time that there has been an extension of the time frame for Turkish soldiers supporting the UN peacekeeping forces. They will now be deployed to helpRead more

Turkish parliament extends mandate for troops in Iraq, Syria

Ankara - AFP

The Turkish parliament on Saturday approved a one-year extension of an existing mandate to use Turkish troops abroad in Syria and Iraq, two days before Iraq's Kurdish region holds a controversial independence referendum. The bill was overwhelmingly passed. Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli said the extension was intended to protect Turkey from "threats", adding that the Kurdish Regional Government's planned voteRead more

Turkey lawmakers back sending troops to Qatar base: officials

Ankara - Arab Today

The Turkish parliament on Wednesday approved the deployment of troops to a Turkish base in Qatar amid a widening crisis between Doha and its rivals in the Gulf. The move is seen as a sign of Turkish support to Qatar after Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt and Bahrain, among other states, cut diplomatic ties and major transport links with theRead more

Protests in Istanbul over referendum result

Istanbul - Arab Today

Hundreds of supporters of the ‘No’ campaign and Turkey’s main opposition party protested in Istanbul on Sunday against the narrow victory in last week’s vote on expanding President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s powers. The ‘Yes’ camp won 51.41 percent in last Sunday’s referendum in a tighter-than-expected win, but opponents claim the result would have been reversed in a fair poll. NearlyRead more

Turkish parliament passes constitutions reforms

Istanbul - Arab Today

In a step forward to tighten grip on the power, the Turkish parliament passed a package of constitutional reforms aiming to turn the country in to the presidential regime instead of the current parliamentary one. The measure aims to expand the authorities of Presidet Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the coming period. The decision marks a victory for Erdogan, a polarizingRead more

Turkish Parliament Passes 2 Articles of New Constitutional

Ankara - Arab Today

Turkish parliament has adopted articles 7 and 8 of a new constitutional reform package out of the total of 18, Anadolu Agency reported. Article 7 deals with the requirements and restrictions for a presidential candidate and it drew support from 340 of 550 lawmakers, while 136 rejected it and 68 lawmakers were absent. According to the article, anyRead more

Turkish Parliament Start Discussion on Constitutional Amendment Switch

Ankara - Arab Today

Discussion on the 18-article constitutional amendment package that will allow Turkey to switch to a presidential system began at the General Assembly of the Turkish Parliament, after being passed by the Constitution Commission. The parliament has accepted to discuss the articles of the package with 338 votes. In the voting, 134 deputies rejected the discussion and two lawmakers abstainedRead more

Turkish parliament to vote to extend state of emergency for 3 more months

Ankara - ArabToday

The Turkish parliament will vote this week to extend the state of emergency for another three months starting from Jan. 19, Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Tuesday. The announcement came during a parliamentary group meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party, private broadcaster NTV reported. The upcoming parliamentary vote will be for the third term of the stateRead more

Turkey's Constitutional Amendment Bill Headed

Ankara - Arab Today

The Turkish parliament's constitutional committee has approved a bill proposing a set of constitutional amendments, including a switch to a presidential system of governance in Turkey. Backed by the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's 316 lawmakers, the bill is now expected to be put to vote in the parliament. The proposed amendments "give executive powers to the president andRead more

Erdogan plans spring referendum, election in 2019

Ankara/Istanbul - Arab Today

Turkey will hold a referendum by next May on constitutional changes expanding the powers of President Tayyip Erdogan, who survived an attempted July coup and is now conducting a purge of suspected participants, from generals to judges and journalists. Meanwhile, the ruling party will submit a bill to Parliament on Saturday expanding President Erdogan’s powers, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said.Read more