Turkey 'soon' to roll out human rights action plan

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will announce a new human rights action plan for the country "soon," a senior ruling party lawmaker said on Wednesday.

"The human rights action plan will soon be coming to an endpoint. Our president will share the details and framework of this in a short time," said Muhammet Emin Akbasoglu, the deputy parliamentary group chair of the Justice and Development (AK) Party in the capital Ankara.

He noted that legislators were also working on a law concerning animal rights, which he said would be put on the parliament's agenda "in the coming weeks."

No snap elections

Speaking to reporters in the parliament, Akbasoglu dismissed claims that elections could be held early in the country before they are scheduled roughly two years later.

"There is no snap election. The nation, with its direct will, has authorized our deputies, the president, the legislature and the executive body for five years. Everything will be done on time," he said.

"Everyone should get used to the new system, and everyone should accept nation's will," he added, referring to Turkey's executive presidential system of government that it adopted in 2017 via referendum vote and put into practice a year later following general and presidential elections.

Turkish officials have touted the benefits of the new system, saying it eliminates inefficiencies and enables the smoother working of the administration.