Parliament revoked the seat of an opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy on Thursday. Leyla Zana lost her seat due to failing to properly take her oath of office, as well as rampant absenteeism after missing over 200 legislative sessions.
Parliament’s General Assembly voted for the expulsion based on earlier recommendations from a special joint commission. Zana lost her seat by a vote of 302-22 in the 550-seat chamber. Deputies of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voted for the expulsion.
HDP deputies protested the decision by hitting their desks.
Leyla Zana had spoken Kurdish while being sworn into parliament in November 2015, leading the speaker to rule her oath invalid. Following that, she did not attend 212 parliament meetings between Oct. 1, 2016, and April 30, 2017.
"With the hope of an honourable and lasting peace," Zana had said in Kurdish while taking the oath. She had also finished it by changing its official wording of "Turkish people" to "people of Turkey."
