Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş gives a clear response to the 'office' crisis in CHP: 'The TBMM is not a party to this'

Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş has spoken for the first time regarding the dual-leadership crisis that erupted in the CHP following the Ankara Regional Court of Justice's "absolute nullity" ruling, and the allegations that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu requested the parliamentary office currently used by Özgür Özel. Kurtulmuş stated, "It is not possible for the TBMM to be a party to the internal affairs of any political party. Efforts to pull the Parliament to one side of these disputes will not yield results."

The legitimacy battle between the Özgür Özel-Ekrem İmamoğlu axis and the wing led by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who returned to the party headquarters following a court ruling, has moved to Parliament. With eyes turned toward Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş after the Kılıçdaroğlu camp requested that the CHP Group Chairman's office within the Parliament be allocated to them, Kurtulmuş delivered clear messages during a press conference.

"A DETAIL WITHIN THE BIGGER PICTURE"

When asked by journalists, "Has there been an official request from Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for the office currently used by Özgür Özel to be allocated to him?", Numan Kurtulmuş responded as follows:

"These are all details within the bigger picture. The TBMM will take the necessary steps when the time comes. If there is a legal contradiction, the TBMM is neither a party to this debate nor the authority to resolve it. Any effort to pull the TBMM to one side of these disputes will not yield results. I advise and hope that the CHP will leave these debates behind as soon as possible and protect its institutional identity."

"OUR LIMIT IS PARLIAMENTARY LAW"

Emphasizing that the parliamentary administration must maintain a stance above political parties and will not act as an arbiter in disputes between court rulings and the internal bylaws of political parties, Kurtulmuş stated:

"It is out of the question for the TBMM to interfere in the internal affairs of any party. The Parliament is not a party to this debate, and it will not be."

"The area we are bound by and limited to concerns parliamentary law. That is to say, we make decisions within the framework of the Parliament's internal regulations, the parties' own bylaws, and the parties' internal group regulations."

"OFFICE" WATCH IN THE PARLIAMENT CORRIDORS

According to information leaked from Ankara political circles, it was alleged that while 72 provincial chairs were issuing a declaration of support for Özgür Özel and Ekrem İmamoğlu in Parliament, some aides close to Kılıçdaroğlu had made a verbal application to the parliamentary administrative office for an office allocation.

With this statement from Kurtulmuş, the parliamentary administration has decided to maintain the current status quo (the offices of Özgür Özel and the elected group leadership) until the legal and political crisis within the CHP is fully clarified and formalized. It remains a matter of curiosity what move the Kılıçdaroğlu wing will make in the parliamentary group against this legal impasse.