UPDATE-Turkish ruling party renominates current parl. speaker

UPDATE WITH REMARKS BY KAHRAMAN

By Emin Avundukluoglu

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party on Monday nominated Ismail Kahraman for a second term as parliament speaker.

The incumbent speaker's two-year term started in November 2015 and will end on Nov. 22. The elections are set for Nov. 20.

Speaking to journalists after submitting his candidacy papers, Kahraman said that he would visit the political party chairs on Tuesday to seek their support.

Kahraman said that in his second term as speaker, parliament should focus on passing laws to move Turkey to a presidential system of government.

"I also want us to prepare new [parliamentary] bylaws from top to bottom," he said.

Turkey has been moving to a presidential system of government in the wake of a constitutional referendum this April approving the shift.

Kahraman added that parliament's organizational structure should also be changed.

Turkey's parliament is set to elect a new speaker of the assembly next Monday after all the candidates file declarations of intent to contest the elections by Thursday.

Lawmakers will elect the new speaker on a single day through a secret ballot of up to four rounds.

In the first two rounds, the candidates will seek a supermajority of 376 lawmakers in the 550-seat parliament.

In the third and fourth rounds, if necessary, a simple majority of 276 lawmakers will be enough to elect a new speaker.

The ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party holds 316 seats in parliament, while the MHP has 36.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) has named former Finance Minister Zekeriya Temizel as its candidate for the post.

The candidate of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) is Selma Irmak, who on Nov. 3 was sentenced to 10 years in prison on terrorism charges.