ANKARA - Justice and Development Party (AKP) parliamentary group deputy chairman Irfan Gunduz assessed the discussions on presidential election on Monday and said, "of course consensus is necessary. It should be sought but it's a political consensus. To present it as a constitutional obligation is not right. There is no such obligation in the Constitution."
Holding a press conference at the parliament, Gunduz upon a question from the press on the allegations that there is "the requirement for 367 MPs to be present at the parliament hall for the presidential election to proceed," said it was strange for Higher Education Board to leave aside its real mission of coordinating the race for production of science and universal knowledge and take a political stance.
Stressing that it was written in Article 96 of the Constitution that "unless stated elsewhere other wise the Parliament convenes with a one-third minimum of the total MPs and takes decision with the absolute majority of the MPs that are present at the hall," Gunduz claimed that a minimum of 184 MPs were enough for the parliament to convene.
"The judiciary, historical, political reading of the Constitution does not allow any other interpretations," underscored Gunduz.