Turkey: Parliament to hold special centennial session

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey on Thursday will celebrate National Sovereignty and Children’s Day as well as the 100th anniversary of the foundation of parliament.

In the morning, ahead of the special session of parliament, Parliament Speaker Mustafa Sentop, top government officials, and politicians will attend a ceremony held at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic.

The special session will begin with Sentop's inaugural speech.

In the special session, leading lawmakers from all the political parties represented in parliament will address the General Assembly.

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, for the first time President and ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan will not attend the special session.

Erdogan will follow the session from his current residence at Huber Mansion in Istanbul.

Parliament had delayed a number of centennial events due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Turkey has so far registered nearly 96,000 coronavirus cases, with a death toll of 2,259.

After being first detected in China late last year, the virus has spread to 185 countries and regions. It has killed some 177,000 people and infected 2.56 million, while nearly 687,000 have recovered, according to the U.S.’ Johns Hopkins University.

The April 23 celebrations focus on children after Ataturk, the first speaker of parliament, dedicated the day to children as the nation’s future.

The Grand National Assembly or parliament met for the first time in 1920 in Ankara, the country’s future capital, during the War of Independence to lay the foundations for an independent, secular, and modern republic.