The 12-day budget marathon in the Turkish Parliament: What happened?

The 12-day budget marathon in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has reached its end. The budget negotiations will conclude with speeches on the budget as a whole.

On the closing day, the floor will feature AKP Group Deputy Chairs Leyla Şahin Usta and Bahadır Yenişehirlioğlu, CHP Group Deputy Chairs Ali Mahir Başarır and Gökhan Günaydın, CHP MP Rahmi Aşkın Türeli, DEM Party Group Deputy Chairs Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit and Sezai Temelli, MHP MPs Mustafa Kalaycı and İsmail Faruk Aksu, and Saadet-Gelecek Group Chair Selçuk Özdağ along with Group Deputy Chairs Bülent Kaya and İsa Mesih Şahin. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz will speak on behalf of the executive branch.

So, what happened throughout the entire budget negotiation process?

Although the 12-day budget session was described as calmer compared to previous years, there were many colorful and noteworthy images captured by the cameras.

THE MOMENT THAT DEFINED THE BUDGET: BAHÇELİ'S APPLAUSE

The moment that defined the budget was MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli applauding the opening budget speech of DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan.

WARNING TO THE MINISTER FROM THE AKP DEPUTY SPEAKER

During the Ministry of Health budget negotiations, tension arose between opposition MPs and Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu regarding the 'newborn gang'.

Following criticisms, particularly from İYİ Party Group Deputy Chair Turhan Çömez, Minister Memişoğlu's remarks, “Even though I am not a psychiatrist, as a physician, I can see that some people are suffering from mythomania, a pathological lying disorder. May God grant them healing, hopefully,” drew backlash.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament Bekir Bozdağ warned Minister Memişoğlu to use respectful language.

ZENGİN'S CALL FOR AN END TO STRIP SEARCHES: IT SHOULD NO LONGER BE ROUTINE

The detention of young people protesting President Erdoğan and their exposure to strip searches were brought up during the budget negotiations. Following criticism from the opposition, AKP's Özlem Zengin stated, "These searches need to stop being a routine matter."

'KURDOPHOBIC' DEBATE WITH HAKAN FİDAN

During the Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget negotiations, in response to the 'Kurdophobic' criticism directed at the government by DEM Party MPs, Fidan said, "Given our relations with Erbil and our relations with the legitimate Kurdish political representatives in Syria, characterizing our hostility toward those who draw weapons on us as 'Kurdophobic' does not align with any reality."

DIRTY WATER DEBATE WITH MURAT KURUM

While the budget for the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change was being discussed, CHP Tekirdağ MP İlhami Özcan Aygün took the floor, displayed the dirty water he brought from the Ergene River, and later attempted to leave the water on the desk where Minister Murat Kurum was sitting. Kurum pushed the water Aygün brought, causing the bottle to fall to the floor. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Sırrı Süreyya Önder stated that Aygün's attitude was inappropriate.

KHMER GREETING FROM SIRRI SÜREYYA ÖNDER

During the budget negotiations for the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş arrived at the General Assembly with Cambodian Senate President Hun Sen, who was on an official visit to Turkey. After announcing Hun Sen's arrival, Deputy Speaker of Parliament Sırrı Süreyya Önder said 'welcome' in Khmer and performed a greeting by joining his hands under his chin. Önder then turned to the MPs and said, "So it wouldn't be an unknown language, I said 'welcome' to him on behalf of all of you in the Khmer language."

ATTEMPTED TO TAKE A COFFIN TO THE PODIUM

CHP Adana MP Ayhan Barut, who took the floor to speak on the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry budget, attempted to bring a model coffin with the words 'AKP killed agriculture and the farmer' written on it to the podium to draw attention to the problems faced by farmers. Deputy Speaker of Parliament Bekir Bozdağ said, "You cannot bring such an item to the parliamentary podium." Upon this, Barut left the coffin on the MPs' benches.

PROTEST WITH A SHROUD AT THE MINISTRY OF FAMILY

CHP Ankara MP Semra Dinçer arrived at the Ministry of Family and Social Services budget negotiations with a shroud bearing the names of murdered women. Showing the pepper spray and taser she was holding to Minister Mahinur Göktaş, Dinçer said, "The women you cannot protect carry this pepper spray and taser in their bags. While the lucky ones manage to hold onto life with this pepper spray and taser, the unlucky ones are forced to wear this shroud."

COAL DUST ON THE PODIUM

CHP Adana MP Müzeyyen Şevkin smeared coal dust on her face at the podium during the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources budget negotiations to draw attention to miners who lost their lives in mining disasters.

PROTEST WITH A MANHOLE COVER FROM AN AKP MP

AKP Istanbul MP Adem Yıldırım protested an accident in Istanbul where a dislodged manhole cover broke the door of a metrobus by taking the manhole cover to the podium. Yıldırım said, "This is actually a picture of the incompetence and ineptitude of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and CHP municipalism."

WASTE EXHIBITION FROM A CHP MP

CHP Karabük MP Cevdet Akay displayed photographs of vehicles used by the government during the Ministry of Treasury and Finance budget negotiations.

Akay said, "This is a waste exhibition," and added, "You said domestic and national, but you came with ultra-luxury vehicles that are neither domestic nor national. There is only one thing about you that is domestic and national, and that is domestic and national inflation."

BÜLENT KAYA'S CIGARETTE CALCULATION FOR MEHMET ŞİMŞEK

The cigarette example given by SAADET-Gelecek Group Deputy Chair Bülent Kaya during the Ministry of Treasury and Finance budget negotiations drew attention.

Kaya said, "Don't you know that you take 61 TL in tax from a 75 TL pack of cigarettes, Mr. Minister? The citizen has to buy 4 packs of cigarettes for you to smoke one pack. Even the biggest moocher asks for 1 cigarette in exchange for 1 cigarette. You smoke 4 packs for yourself from every pack of cigarettes. So, actually, you are the biggest addicts. Are you thinking of quitting smoking?"

KURDISH APPROVAL FROM MHP'S CELAL ADAN

During the presidential budget negotiations, DEM Party Spokesperson and Şırnak MP Ayşegül Doğan asked MHP Deputy Speaker of Parliament Celal Adan, who was presiding over the session, "I suppose I cannot say welcome to Vice President Mr. Cevdet Yılmaz in his own mother tongue, right?"

Upon Adan's response, "Of course, of course, go ahead," Doğan began her speech by saying "Hûn bi xêr hatin" (Welcome) to Yılmaz.

AĞBABA SHOWED PHOTOS OF OSMAN GÖKÇEK'S 600 MILLION LIRA HOUSE

CHP MP Veli Ağbaba showed photos of AKP MP Osman Gökçek's house during the presidential budget negotiations and said, "This house is worth 600 million. The country has fallen apart. In the old Turkey, there was a sense of shame."

Ağbaba compared the photo of Gökçek's house with photos of the house of the father of Yasin Karaca, who lost his life in a clash in Northern Iraq, and said, "One is a martyr's house, the other is shameless Osman's new house... Osman becomes a martyr so that shameless and brazen Osmans can live comfortably."