PARLIAMENT OPENS AMID BOYCOTT

Members of the 24th Term Turkish Grand National Assembly took their oaths of office after June 12 elections.

During the oath-taking ceremony, Minister for EU Affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis took his oath of office. 326 deputies from Justice and Development Party (AKP) and 51 deputies from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) took their oaths of office. The temporary Speaker of the Parliament Oktay Eksi, a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP), and Ihsan Barutcu, a candidate deputy who was booted from MHP and selected as an independent deputy also took their oaths of office.

134 deputies from CHP did not take their oaths of office in order to protest the court ruling that refused to release Mustafa Balbay and Mehmet Haberal, two newly elected CHP deputies. 35 Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) backed independent deputies did not attend the ceremony either to protest the abolishment of Hatip Dicle's deputyship. The oath-taking ceremony lasted approximately for 6.5 hours.