A public prosecutor on the request of the Turkish Ministry of Justice has sent parliament summaries of proceedings for 44 lawmakers from four political parties, including the leaders of the country’s opposition groups, to lift their parliamentary immunity.
A total of 39 lawmakers from pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), three from main opposition secularist Republican People’s Party (CHP), and one lawmaker from ruling Islamist ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and one from socialist Turkey Workers’ Party (TİP) are facing lawsuits, the site said.
CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and HDP co-chairs Sezai Temelli and Pervin Buldan are among the leaders whose summaries of proceedings have been forwarded to the Parliamentary Justice Commission, Diken said.
The move arrives a day before local elections when Turkey will head to the ballot boxes to choose mayors and neighbourhood leaders throughout the country.
Opposition parties have sought to put aside their differences in an attempt to loosen the grip of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling AKP over the country ahead of Sunday’s polls.
Turkish police in Istanbul launched an operation against the HDP on Saturday, detaining the party’s members and election observers, one day before the local polls.