BY AYDIN AYAYDIN
SABAH - Today's agenda of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) is to convene for the first round of the presidential election. 367 votes are necessary in the first round to elect the president. Some circles including the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) allege that 367 MPs should be ready at the plenary session in order to start the elections and CHP says that if this number is not provided they are going to take the case to the Constitutional Court. I would like to share my views on the issue within the framework of the Constitution.
In the first paragraph of the Article 96 of the Constitution, it is written that "unless otherwise stipulated in the Constitution, the TGNA shall convene with at least one third of the total number members and shall take decision by an absolute majority of those present; however the quorum for decisions can under no circumstances be less than a quarter plus one of the total number of members." When the other articles of the Constitution are examined, it is seen that no other article is found about the quorum in the Constitution. Therefore, it is not possible to envisage different quorums for every different session. According to this article, the quorum for the sessions is 184 while it is 139 for decisions.
The President of the Republic shall be elected by a two-thirds majority of the total number of members of the Turkish Grand National Assembly and by secret ballot. If the TGNA is not in session, it shall be summoned immediately to meet. In the following paragraphs, it has been decided when the election will start, when it will end and what will be done if the two-thirds majority cannot be obtained. The statement in the third paragraph of the Article 102 of the Constitution reading "If a two-thirds majority of the total number of members cannot be obtained in the first two ballots, a third ballot should be held" is in fact compatible with the statement reading "the candidate who receives the absolute majority of votes of the total number of members shall be elected the president."
It is a stipulation of the Constitution that if none of the candidates can obtain 367 votes in the first two ballots, a third ballot will be held; however the claim that a second ballot cannot be held if 367 votes cannot be provided in the first ballot is by no means in line with this article of the constitution.
Despite all of these, if 367 is not obtained and the main opposition party takes the issue to the Constitutional Court it seems that the court will negotiate the case immediately. It will examine the case taking into account Articles 102 and 96 of the constitution and decide accordingly. If it rules that 367 is not necessary for the session, the problem will be settled and Abdullah Gul will be elected the 11th president in the third ballot dated May 9. On the other hand, if it rules that 367 is a requirement, then the ruling Justice and Development Party's plan B which is an early election in sixty days steps in.
Therefore, this is a very important day and the entire world will be following today's session closely.