Turkey approves stripping MPs of immunity
14:23, 20/05/2016, FridayU: Update: 14:47, 20/05/2016, Friday
Yeni Şafak
138 lawmakers will likely be prosecuted on 667 different dossiers as the bill is approved in the General Assembly
Turkey's parliament has approved the bill lifting lawmakers' immunity from prosecution.
In Friday's third and final vote in a secret ballot, 376 MPs in the 550-seat parliament backed the plan to lift MPs' immunity from prosecution, a high enough level of support to change the constitution directly without needing to hold a referendum.
531 MPs attended the first and second rounds of the secret ballot process, while 526 MPs voted in the second round. The bill will not be taken to a referendum as the results has standed at 367 in the final round of voting.
The amenment will be presented to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for final approval, without holding a referendum as 367 vote threshold was surpassed.
The Grand National Assembly met at 10:00 am to vote on making two temporary amendments to the constitution to remove deputies' immunity from prosecution. Before voting, MPs from secularist People's Republican Party (CHP) marched out from the Parliament in protest of recent remarks by Speaker İsmail Kahraman on the constitution.
The first clause received 373 votes in favor and 138 votes against; the second clause of the bill received 374 votes in favor and 136 votes against.
The targeted lawmakers, from all four parliamentary parties, have a total of 667 criminal proceedings lodged against them.
The chairs of opposition parties have dossiers against them, with HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş facing 75 criminal cases, Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu 41 and MHP head Devlet Bahçeli nine. Some MPs from People's Democratic Party (HDP) will likely be arrested as they have faced terror-related charges.
