Asked to Cevdet Yılmaz and Mehmet Şimşek: What criteria does TURKSTAT use for its data?

SAADET Parliamentary Group Chair and Gelecek Party Muğla MP Selçuk Özdağ has brought TURKSTAT to the agenda of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM).

Selçuk Özdağ posed 8 questions to Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and Minister Mehmet Şimşek.

Recalling the ruling of the Ankara 6th Administrative Court dated March 31, 2023, which stated that the "Inflation Item Basket" data must be disclosed, Selçuk Özdağ asked, "What criteria does TURKSTAT base its preparation on when producing such disparate data?"

Referencing the TURKSTAT basket research by economy writer and journalist Alaattin Aktaş, Selçuk Özdağ asked, "Has any sanction been applied against the TURKSTAT Presidency?"

The questions Selçuk Özdağ submitted for Cevdet Yılmaz and Mehmet Şimşek to answer are as follows:

1) Why have the main item headings and sub-headings used as a basis for the "Inflation Item Basket" data not been disclosed to the public to date?

2) Has any sanction been applied against the TURKSTAT Presidency for failing to comply with the Ankara 6th Administrative Court's decision dated March 31, 2023, with case number 2022/2383 and decision number 2023/700?

3) Although TURKSTAT announced monthly inflation for July as 3.23% and annual inflation as 61.78%, according to the independent organization ENAG, consumer price increases in July were 5.91%, and the increase over the last 12 months was 100.88%. What is the reason for the difference in these announced inflation rates?

4) Is the intention behind the low official TURKSTAT figures to ensure that wage increases are reflected less in salaries, and that the amount of raises to be given to civil servants and retirees is applied at a lower rate than it should be?

5) While citizens of the Republic of Turkey are struggling with massive prices and inflation in every field, what criteria does TURKSTAT base its preparation on when producing such disparate data?

6) How do you plan to explain to the public that the other data released by TURKSTAT, particularly inflation, is reliable, given that it does not disclose the Inflation Item Basket data? What evidence will be presented in this regard?

7) It was claimed that the "zero price" method applied to natural gas prices was effective in the inflation data announced by TURKSTAT for May 2023, for example; is this true? Are such claims not an indication that TURKSTAT data is dubious?

8) Do you believe that such claims and suspicions being directed at an institution like TURKSTAT—which affects everything from the bread on the Turkish people's tables to the salaries they receive and the bills they pay through its decisions and statistical data—will lead to serious consequences affecting the country's present and future, and furthermore, that this creates a national security issue?

News Source: 12punto