Oktay Vural

The decision on what to do with the primary evidence in the corruption probe against four ex-ministers belongs to the corruption inquiry commission, Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek has said, rejecting appeals from opposition lawmakers to save the evidence.

Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy group leader Oktay Vural has accused the government of failing to exert control in the southeast amid recent unrest.

Vural said de facto autonomy had been announced in the southeastern part of the country and that the government had failed to maintain control over the region.

Elections songs are not only popular gimmicks used by political parties during campaigns, but those parties are also apparently very possessive about their tunes.

With the general elections approaching, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has kicked off a debate by accusing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of stealing a song they used back in 1999.

Opposition party figures have declared the mass arrest of police officers in an ostensible operation into the “parallel state” to be nothing more than a “revenge operation,” with Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) co-leader Selahattin Demirtaş warning the prime minister over the probe.

Ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials have declined opposition calls for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to resign, following his nomination for the presidential elections, announced on July 1.

“Prime Minister Erdoğan’s resignation due to his candidacy is out of the question,” Deputy Prime Minister Emrullah İşler told reporters on July 2.