Two ministers silent in their first month: Akın Gürlek and Mustafa Çiftçi's parliamentary report card revealed
In the month since the Ministers of Interior and Justice took office, more than 100 parliamentary questions submitted to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) have gone unanswered. The ministers have not provided explanations for many important issues raised by members of parliament.
12punto
Minister of Justice Akın Gürlek and Minister of Interior Mustafa Çiftçi, who took their seats after being sworn in at the Parliament on February 11, have yet to respond to parliamentary questions from deputies in their first month in office.
According to a report in Cumhuriyet, records from the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey show that a total of 140 parliamentary questions submitted to the two ministers have not received a response within the required timeframe. Deputies are awaiting explanations on topics currently on the agendas of both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior.
Of the questions submitted, 71 directed to Gürlek and 69 directed to Çiftçi remain unanswered. The content of these questions covers various issues of public concern currently on the national agenda.
MAJOR AGENDA ITEMS REMAIN UNANSWERED
Looking at the questions directed to Minister of Justice Gürlek, significant inquiries regarding judicial processes following the February 6 earthquakes stand out. Specifically, questions were asked regarding the number of investigations opened against public officials responsible for licensing, inspection, and zoning amnesty processes for buildings destroyed in the earthquakes, as well as the number of individuals currently on trial. Additionally, explanations were requested regarding issues such as the appointment of trustees to municipalities and the publicly debated Epstein documents. Other topics, such as education in the mother tongue, were also included in the questions.
The questions received by Minister of Interior Çiftçi were found to focus on social issues such as the fight against drugs, child labor, femicide, and illegal betting. Questions that Çiftçi has not answered include: “What is the number of individuals who have been processed for being considered an organizer, manager, or financier of drug trafficking across Turkey in the last 5 years? According to your ministry, what are the root causes of the significant increase in femicide and violence against women in recent years? How many perpetrators have committed femicide despite having a restraining or protection order against them? What is the number of law enforcement inspections in the fight against unregistered child labor?”