All parties stood to welcome Erdoğan at the opening of the Turkish Parliament: Protests from CHP, TİP, and EMEP

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey began its new legislative term today. However, the CHP did not attend the opening, citing recent operations against mayors, arrests, and interventions in party congresses as reasons.

Deputies from the Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) and the Labour Party (EMEP) also supported the protest.

On the other hand, when AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan entered the General Assembly, he was welcomed by the deputies of all political parties present in the hall, who stood up.

DEM PARTY STOOD UP FOR THE FIRST TIME, ERDOĞAN WENT TO SHAKE HANDS

DEM Party deputies stood up for the first time during President Erdoğan's entry into the General Assembly.

Furthermore, before Erdoğan delivered his speech, DEM Party Co-Chairs Tülay Hatimoğulları and Tuncer Bakırhan went to MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli and shook his hand.

After Erdoğan finished his speech, he first went to the DEM Party benches and shook hands.

Here are the highlights from Erdoğan's parliamentary opening speech:

"The strongest reaction to the genocide that the Israeli administration has been carrying out in Gaza and other parts of Palestine for 2 years, and the state terrorism it has unleashed in the region, has risen from these seats where our 86 million citizens are represented. Our parliament, which has been the voice of our nation's conscience with its uncompromising stance against the mass slaughter in Gaza, has demonstrated its difference with the 7 joint declarations it has issued."

In particular, the declaration adopted by the General Assembly on August 29 regarding the genocide committed by Israel against the Palestinian people has served as a very strong message for those who turn a blind eye to oppression and are drowning in a pit of negligence. The work carried out within the framework of the group of parliaments supporting Palestine is another success of our parliament in the context of Gaza and Palestinian diplomacy.

In short, this supreme institution has passed the Gaza test with pride, in a full and complete manner worthy of our history and national character. I heartfully thank our political parties and esteemed deputies who have shown solidarity with the oppressed Palestinians. May God be pleased with you all. Esteemed deputies, we have also been a loud voice for the Palestinian cause on every platform, especially at the 80th United Nations General Assembly, which we attended last week.

We have maintained our honorable stance in the strongest possible way against the smear campaigns targeting ourselves, our government, and our country. We have never left alone the brave children of Gaza who heroically resist the occupying forces attacking their lands with the world's most modern weapons. By delivering over 102,000 tons of humanitarian aid to Gaza, by completely cutting off trade with Israel a year and a half ago, and by intervening in the genocide case opened at the International Court of Justice, we have taken many diplomatic, legal, and economic steps that we cannot even list here, and thank God, we have stood tall by our Gazan brothers and sisters.

Our Gazan brothers and sisters are the closest witnesses to Turkey's efforts. The Palestinian people know very, very well what we have done for them and with what devotion we have strived. However, despite this, we see that our country and our government are being subjected to unfair and insolent criticisms from circles whose records on this issue are not bright at all, and we are deeply saddened by this. Neither we nor the friends we walk with have met the Palestinian cause 2 years ago like some others.

We have dedicated our lives to this cause. If God permits, we will continue to fearlessly defend the rights of Palestine and our first Qibla, Al-Quds Al-Sharif, until our last breath. I have no doubt about this. I hope that history will write the Republic of Turkey in golden letters as the monument of conscience of its era because of our principled stance on Gaza. I would also like this to be known here specifically.

"IN THE MEETING WE HELD WITH TRUMP..."

In the meeting we held with American President Mr. Trump, stopping the bloodshed in Gaza was at the top of our agenda. We made our proposals on this matter. We showed the ways out. We clearly stated what is needed for a lasting peace. Our principle is this: There is no winner in war, and no loser in a just peace.

Our Palestinian brothers and sisters are the people who, through their honorable struggle, most deserve peace and tranquility in the world. Bringing Palestinians together with the environment of lasting peace they deserve is a debt owed to Gaza, first by the Islamic world and then by the international community.

Gaza has had enough of blood, tears, and destruction. This shame must end as soon as possible. We do not want a single more innocent person to be torn from life, a single more child to die of hunger, or a single more bomb to fall on Gaza. As Turkey, we will continue to work for this with all our might. God willing, our struggle will continue until an independent, sovereign Palestinian state with territorial integrity and East Jerusalem as its capital is established on the basis of the 1967 borders. Despite all the pain experienced and all the innocent blood shed in torrents, we maintain our hope.

Just as God granted us the opportunity to see Syria regain its freedom after 14 years of darkness, I believe with all my heart that we will also see beautiful days where peace, tranquility, and security prevail from the river to the sea. I send our messages of solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Gaza and Palestine from here, and I emphasize that Turkey, which has always stood by them, will continue to do so in the future.

THANKS TO BAHÇELİ AND THE DEM PARTY FOR THE 'PROCESS'!

Mr. Speaker, distinguished deputies, at this very time last year, at the beginning of the new legislative term, I drew attention to the fortification of our internal front from this podium and expressed my wishes for our parliament to work within a framework of harmony, alliance, consensus, and mutual respect between the government and the opposition, in a way that sets an example for society.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Mr. Devlet Bahçeli shared his thoughts on building a Turkey free of terrorism, both with his courteous demeanor in the General Assembly and his visionary statements outside the Parliament, involving both the government and the opposition.

In the past year, historic steps have been taken toward our goal of a Turkey free of terrorism. Significant progress has been made. On this occasion, I would like to express my gratitude on behalf of my country and my nation to Mr. Devlet Bahçeli, one of the architects of our ideal of a terror-free Turkey, for his vast political experience, knowledge, and determination. Likewise, I extend my gratitude to the DEM Party delegation and leadership, who have made significant contributions to the path of clearing Turkey of terrorism with their constructive stance and efforts during this one-year process. I also remember here with mercy Istanbul Deputy Mr. Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who worked until his last breath to tear down the wall of terror and ensure that peace and brotherhood prevail in every corner of our nation. In the past year, the terrorist organization has stopped its attacks, announced its dissolution, and burned its weapons in a symbolic ceremony. The scourge of terrorism, which has caused tens of thousands of lives lost and 2 trillion dollars in economic losses since 1984, has thus reached the point of ending.

We are aware that the process is extremely sensitive. However, we have been looking at it positively from the very beginning. We are making an effort to maintain a positive outlook. I would like to state once again from this parliamentary podium: The Republic of Turkey does not kneel, bow down, or make concessions to any worldly power, and it will never make its sovereignty a subject of negotiation.

In this context, if there are any citizens whose minds have been clouded by the provocations of certain opposition parties, let them be at ease. Especially the esteemed families of our martyrs and our veterans should know that neither we as the government, nor our partner in the People's Alliance, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), nor this supreme assembly will allow any step to be taken that would cast a shadow over their cherished memories. Our goal is to end terrorism and strengthen brotherhood. We are taking our steps solely and exclusively toward this goal.

There is no doubt that the most important center for our ideal of a terror-free Turkey is here. That is, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Under the roof of the Assembly, the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Commission has begun its work with representatives from the vast majority of our political parties and has held 12 meetings so far.

When the commission completes its work, we will undoubtedly have very important data in hand. Implementing the proposals voiced in the commission as a result of consultation and consensus will constitute the next stage.

What is important here is that Turkey's domestic, national, and solution-oriented political parties take on the burden for such a vital issue, meet under the same commission roof, talk, listen to each other with respect, and hold consultations.

This is a very exceptional achievement that increases our hopes for the democracy of our country. This commission has shown that there is no solution through weapons.

You cannot shake hands with clenched fists. Everything can be discussed, debated, and consulted within a framework of respect. The commission meeting and discussing every issue with openness and sincerity is, without a doubt, to Turkey's benefit, not its detriment.

Our Brotherhood and Democracy Commission has displayed this maturity and has become the finest proof that Turkey has also reached this level of maturity.

On this occasion, I would like to thank the valuable members and staff of our commission and wish them success in their future sessions. Our esteemed deputies will preserve this climate of peace and security that has formed in Turkey in the strongest way possible. A Turkey where 86 million are one, together, and brothers will mobilize its energy not for the fight against terrorism, but for prosperity. The successes achieved in every field will be consolidated and strengthened in a terror-free Turkey, and God willing, will create opportunities for new breakthroughs.

I find it useful to underline this point specifically. The steps we take on issues closely related to Turkey's security must be kept completely separate from the climate of peace and brotherhood that has been established. Turkey is the greatest, most sincere, and most reliable protector and brother to Kurds outside its borders, just as it is the homeland for Kurds within Turkey; it is the first refuge they turn to in recent days. This has been the case for centuries, and it is so today and will be tomorrow. I hope it will never change. We will never consent to our Kurdish brothers beyond our borders being exploited by certain terrorist organizations or by countries and circles that are generally hostile to Turks, Kurds, Arabs, and Muslims.

STATEMENT ON SYRIA!

From the very beginning, we have strongly supported Syria's territorial integrity. Today, we are also most strongly opposed to plans for the partition of Syria. We have activated all channels of diplomacy to both ensure Syria's territorial integrity and prevent any terrorist formation beyond our borders. We continue to use these channels with patience, sincerity, and common sense. If diplomatic initiatives remain unanswered, Turkey's position and policy are clear. Turkey will not allow a déjà vu in Syria. This principled stance of ours is not against the Syrian people, including our Kurdish brothers, but on the contrary, it is in their favor. It is a stance aimed at ridding our region of the scourge of terrorism.

I am underlining this again. Whether Turk, Kurd, Arab, Sunni, Shia, Alevi, or Nusayri, regardless of ethnic origin, language, or sect, we are all travelers on a common future. In this journey, our eternal and everlasting brotherhood has the strength, with God's permission, to overcome every obstacle. When we act with common sense and approach the future with a vision nourished by a 1,000-year shared history, we will solve every problem and thwart every game, with God's permission. When we lock together like the bricks of a wall, the problems in the region will be solved one by one. The region will attain lasting peace and tranquility. However, if we allow brokers to come between us, blood, tears, conflict, and oppression will never be absent from our geography. Just as Turks, Kurds, and Arabs stood shoulder to shoulder in the armies of Sultan Alparslan, Saladin, and Sultan Fatih to win victories, and just as they heroically defended Islamic lands together in Gallipoli, I hope that tomorrow, the Turkish-Kurdish-Arab alliance will forever ensure and consolidate the peace, tranquility, development, and prosperity of the region together. We believe this with all our hearts.

Mr. Speaker, esteemed members of our Grand Assembly, we continue to heal the wounds of the February 6 earthquakes that broke the hearts of 86 million people. Although we cannot bring back the citizens who lost their lives and whom we commemorate with mercy, we have, thank God, succeeded in erasing the traces of the disaster. Currently, tens of thousands of our architect, engineer, and worker brothers and sisters are continuing their work day and night at our 3,481 construction sites. On September 6, we handed over the keys to our 304,000th home in Malatya to our rightful beneficiary brothers and sisters. God willing, we will hold the lottery for our 350,000th residence next month.

We are working with all our might to deliver a total of 453,000 independent units to our beneficiary families by the end of the year. I wish for our citizens who have attained their new homes to live in them with peace of mind, health, and well-being. Likewise, I pray to the Almighty for prosperous and abundant earnings for our disaster-stricken brothers and sisters to whom we have delivered new workplaces. In the reconstruction process, which we are carrying out with a full spirit of mobilization, we have not limited ourselves only to housing and workplaces. We cherish each of the legacies left by our ancestors and are making maximum efforts to preserve them in accordance with their original form.

"OUR PRIORITY IS TO PERMANENTLY SOLVE OUR PEOPLE'S PROBLEM OF THE HIGH COST OF LIVING"

To date, we have spent 3.6 trillion liras, or approximately 90 billion dollars in current figures, as the public sector for our earthquake-stricken regions. I would like to share some figures regarding the economy with you here. We have made expenditures. I would like to share some figures regarding the economy with you here.

Our esteemed deputies, our priority is to permanently solve our people's problem with the high cost of living. In August, we reached an important turning point by seeing the lowest inflation rate of the last 45 months. We plan to reduce inflation to below 30 percent by the end of this year and below 20 percent in 2026. We project that the ratio of our budget deficit to national income will decrease to 3.6 percent this year and to 3.5 percent in 2026. We are also doing very well on the export side, thank God. In August, our annual exports exceeded 269 billion dollars. Despite the high level of gold imports, our external balance has improved rapidly. We hope to close 2025 with a current account deficit of only 1.4 percent of our national income. We have also achieved very serious gains in terms of access to external resources. Access to finance has become easier and costs have declined significantly for both our banking sector and our real sector.

The ratio of our external debt to national income has fallen to its lowest level in the last 14 years. On the other hand, we have achieved historic successes in terms of reserve adequacy. Our Central Bank's reserves have reached 179 billion dollars and are continuing to rise. With the effect of our program, our risk premium and borrowing costs have declined. Confidence in the Turkish Lira has begun to increase with each passing day. Despite uncertainties in the global economy and low growth rates among our trading partners, the Turkish economy has continued to grow, thank God. While our annual growth was 3.6% in the first half of 2025, our national income approached 1.5 trillion dollars on an annualized basis. On the production front, we recorded value-added growth in all sectors except for the agricultural sector, which contracted due to agricultural frost. Our manufacturing industry showed its best performance of the last 12 quarters. While the balance between consumption and investment was maintained, extremely positive developments also occurred on the employment side. Our unemployment rate has remained in the single digits for exactly 28 months. We saw another beautiful development, another record level, in tourism. In the first 6 months of 2025, we broke the all-time 6-month revenue record with 25.8 billion dollars in revenue. We are moving with confident steps toward 64 billion dollars in tourism revenue by the end of 2025. I say this in terms of the same success story. It is possible to see this in health, education, transportation, energy, social policies, agriculture, industry, and especially in the defense industry. Türkiye has achieved great breakthroughs in a short time by competing with itself in all these areas. Hopefully, we will continue this strong momentum we have captured by accelerating it. Finally, I would like to briefly touch upon our structural reform agenda. The year 2026 will be a year of reform in the Turkish economy. We are launching a major transformation in all areas of our economy, from industry to technology, from agriculture to energy. By implementing steps that will strengthen fiscal discipline in local governments, we will further consolidate transparency, accountability, and efficiency in the public sector. May it be auspicious for our country, our nation, and our economy.

RESPONSE TO BARRACK'S CONTROVERSIAL 'LEGITIMACY' STATEMENT!

Mr. Speaker, esteemed deputies. We are all here with the appreciation and favor of tens of millions who turn the ballot boxes into a festival of our democracy in every election. There is only one source of legitimacy in Türkiye, and that is the pure will of our beloved nation. Since we first appeared on the political scene, we have said that the source of legitimacy is the nation, and we have tried to establish national sovereignty in the strongest way possible. Throughout our political life, which spans nearly half a century, we have always carried out all the struggles we have entered into with the permission and authority we received from the will that emerged from the ballot box. Look, in this country, even though sovereignty belonged to the nation on paper for a period, in reality, it was under the hegemony of capital, the media, and the elite. The sword of tutelage continued to hang over the national will for years. We took the sovereignty from the hands of the privileged and handed it over to the nation, its true owner. We worked very hard for this. We fought a great struggle. We paid very serious prices. We had to withstand many attacks. But in the end, we made the nation's will sovereign in every field in Türkiye.

There is no place in Türkiye for privileges that do not derive their power from the people. There is no place in Türkiye for privileges that are not based on the will of the nation in politics, law, the economy, the public sector, or in social and daily life. Hopefully, there never will be. The source of sovereignty is the will of the nation. The nation exercises this will through the elected President in the executive branch and through deputies in the legislative branch. The artificial debates brought to the agenda by some opposition actors from time to time, especially to cover up certain scandals that have emerged, are a disrespect to the will our nation demonstrated in the May 14-28 elections.

It is a great disrespect to the nation itself. Our nation has given us a 5-year mandate for the Presidency and for you in the Parliament. We will hopefully use this authority we received from our beloved nation at the ballot box in the most beautiful and efficient way until the end. We will continue the construction of our Century of Türkiye with the opportunities for rapid and effective decision-making and implementation provided by the Presidential Government System. The sensitivity that you, the esteemed members of our legislative body, will display will instill strength and morale in us as the executive in these efforts of ours.

I wholeheartedly believe that you will also support our desire to crown the great distance covered in the last 23 years with a new constitution that is worthy of the Century of Türkiye and that will not be too tight for Türkiye, with your support as well. I beg this august Assembly and our brothers and sisters who are following us on their screens to know this: We are running to further increase Türkiye's opportunities, potential, and wealth. We are mobilizing Türkiye's resources for the needs of Türkiye, for the 86 million citizens of this country, and for its youth and future. We see every segment that thinks, produces, and works with a Türkiye-centered perspective as a fellow traveler in this struggle. We are happy to walk together toward the same goal with anyone who works, strives, speaks, and engages in politics for this nation. But we will not show even a speck of mercy to those who reach out for the rights of the orphan, the destitute, the worker, the farmer, the retiree, the merchant, the industrialist, or the tradesman."

News Source: 12punto