Turkish parliament set to elect 7 top judges to board of judges, prosecutors

A parliamentary voting process to attain seven members of the 13-membered Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSK) is set to begin on May 16, amid opposition parties' disapproval of the voting and claims that 21 members to be attained to the board are affiliated to political parties. 

The parliament's General Assembly is set to convene on May 16 in order to elect seven members among 21 candidates to the HSK in a two-round voting process. 

The parliament's joint commission assessed 83 candidates and decided on 21 names on May 10 to be submitted to the parliamentary vote. 

The voting will take place with two sessions in a secret ballot. In the first round, 367 of 550 votes will be sought to elect a candidate, while in the second round 330 votes will be determinant to mark the name.  

[HH] Opposition parties protest voting

The AKP and the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) are supporting the election process; however their votes are enough to elect the top judges in the second tour, making other opposition parties' votes futile.  

Meanwhile, the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) are protesting the voting process, with both sides saying that they will not partake in any process that could amount to "legitimizing the constitutional amendment." 

Arguing that the names determined by the Parliamentary Commission are mostly affiliated to political parties, CHP deputy leader and spokesperson Bülent Tezcan said the voting is "a process that would politicize the judiciary."

"Our stance is clear. We want an independent judiciary. We do not want any other alignment of religious organizations and politics to bring the judiciary into another dark...