Erdogan muzzles his opponents by reducing the duration of parliamentary speeches

As usual with any dictatorial regime, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan always feels the danger of the voices opposing his ruling regime on his remaining in power, and their impact on his influence, and then he resorts to devising laws and means that contribute to silencing those voices and even extinguishing them forever.

The Turkish opposition Zaman newspaper confirmed that the ruling Justice and Development Party and its ally, the National Movement, are preparing to reduce the length of speeches of members of Parliament, in a move that the regime wants to silence the voice of the opposition in the House of Representatives.

Before the start of the twenty-seventh session of Parliament on October 1, Erdogan seeks to withdraw the right of opposition MPs to speak in Parliament. Therefore, the bill will include reducing speeches delivered in the Parliament’s General Assembly by half.

According to Zaman, the current procedures that are in effect in Parliament stipulate that the duration of speeches delivered on behalf of political party groups and blocs does not exceed 20 minutes, while the duration of speeches delivered by the representatives is 10 minutes, and in the event that they are repeated for the second time, the time is shortened. Halved, that is, 5 minutes.

For his part, Özgur Özil, deputy head of the parliamentary bloc of the CHP, the largest opposition party, criticized the project, saying: “Instead of submitting project proposals that meet the interests of the citizen, they make Parliament work overtime to present draft decisions for the benefit of the palace class and those around it.”

In the same context, the Turkish newspaper “Dovar” confirmed that the ruling Justice and Development Party is planning to make changes in the electoral system during the reopening of the new parliamentary session next October, as it is working with its ally, the National Movement, to finalize the lists of changes to be presented upon the return of Parliament. And the two sides formed committees to work on amending the political parties law, the election law, and the Parliament’s bylaws.

And on the course of the continued persecution of opponents, the Turkish newspaper Zaman said that dozens of opposition figures have been subjected to kidnappings and arrests during the past period, stressing that the charges against them are fabricated and null, and are only allegations of overthrowing the regime and inciting violence.

Zaman stated that nearly 30 politicians, most of them young men, have been arrested after being kidnapped in the past two months alone.