ANKARA
Turkey’s new parliament had its first plenary session at 3 p.m. local time [1300GMT] on Tuesday five days after the country’s Supreme Election Council revealed the final official results from the Nov. 1 general election.
The Republican People's Party's (CHP) Deniz Baykal -- as the parliament’s oldest MP (77) -- presided over the assembly as the acting speaker. He will hold that position until a new speaker is elected.
During his speech before parliament, Baykal said: "Today, establishing a single-party government did not eliminate the need of a big reconciliation in Turkey, on the contrary it increased the need."
"Our first task is to prevent the spread of fire in Middle East to Turkey," Deniz Baykal added. "The strongest assurance against the religious or racist terrorism is the basic philosophy of our Republic. This philosophy is the most honorable inheritance coming from the history of the parliament."
The next stage sees the new lawmakers select the parliament speaker via secret ballot.
Candidates for the position will submit their applications after the first plenary session and the oath-taking ceremony. The deadline for applications is Nov. 21.
After the parliament decides on a speaker, the four political parties will designate members to the top administrative body according to their representation in parliament.
These names will then be submitted for approval at the General Assembly.
The current Cabinet will continue its duties until the formation of a new government.
According to the official election results, the Justice and Development (AK) Party secured 317 seats in the 550-member Grand National Assembly.
The CHP came in second, claiming 134 seats while the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) secured 59 seats and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) claimed 40 seats.
