CHP deputy elected as head of Council of Europe committee

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ankara deputy Gülsün Bilgehan, has been elected as Chairperson of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, becoming the first Turkish politician ever to be selected to the top post for a second time.

Bilgehan, the candidate of the council's Socialist Group, returned to the upper echelons of the Council of Europe after a Strasbourg meeting on Jan. 27.

She thanked the deputies for electing her once again, adding that her field of activity has been broadened compared to her first post, which occurred between 2006 and 2008.

The Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination is composed of national parliamentarians from the 47 Council of Europe member states and its mandate covers discrimination based on any ground.