National Assembly in December: Youth Issues Factsheet

This information note summarizes the prominent youth-related discussions, speeches, and significant data from the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye (TBMM) during December, based on published transcripts. Through this regularly published series, we aim to highlight where youth issues are positioned within TBMM and reflect parliamentarians’ perspectives on youth. Notably, December is the month of budget discussions, characterized by a higher level of dialogue with ministers attending sessions.

Key Themes

Youth Unemployment and Poverty: Youth unemployment and poverty were addressed 32 times during December. Parliamentarians emphasized the difficulty young people face in finding jobs and the economic hardships leading to poverty-level living conditions. Recommendations included increasing employment policies and youth-focused economic support programs.

Party-based mentions of this issue:

İYİ Party: 11
CHP: 9
DEM Party: 5
Felicity (Saadet) Party: 4
DEVA Party: 1
HÜDAPAR: 1
MHP: 1

Nepotism and Lack of Merit in Appointments: Nepotism in public appointments was highlighted 11 times. Parliamentarians critiqued favoritism and unfair practices in recruitment, which negatively affect young people’s motivation. Calls were made for transparency and fairness in hiring processes.

Party-based mentions of this issue:

CHP: 4
DEM Party: 2
İYİ Party: 2
Future Party: 1
Felicity (Saadet) Party: 1

Political Pressure and Arrests: The arrest of young people for questioning the president and protesting against Israel was brought up 16 times. Parliamentarians underlined the need to safeguard freedom of expression and called for an end to political pressures.

Party-based mentions of this issue:

CHP: 5
Felicity (Saadet) Party: 4
DEM Party: 3
İYİ Party: 2
Future Party: 1
Yeniden Refah Party: 1

Ministerial Participation

Ministers actively participated in youth-related discussions due to the budget negotiations:

Cevdet Yılmaz (Vice President)
Alparslan Bayraktar (Minister of Energy and Natural Resources )
Mehmet Fatih Kacır (Minister of Industry and Technology)
Osman Aşkın Bak (Minister of Youth and Sports)
Vedat Işıkhan (Minister of Labour and Social Security)
Ali Yerlikaya (Minister of Interior)

Key Agendas by Ministers

Family and Youth Fund: Minister of Energy Alpaslan Bayraktar mentioned a 6 billion TL budget allocated to the Family and Youth Fund, sparking discussions on its effective use for youth projects.

National Technology Initiative: Minister of Industry Mehmet Fatih Kacır emphasized the importance of the “National Technology Initiative“, encouraging youth to develop skills and participate in national technological projects.

Notable Data

Parliamentary Participation: CHP led youth discussions with 40 speeches, followed by İYİ Party (31) and DEM Party (21).

Recurring Topics: Youth unemployment, poverty, and nepotism in recruitment were the most frequently addressed issues.

Top Speakers on Youth Topics: Hüsmen Kırkpınar (İYİ Party), İsa Mesih Şahin (Future Party), Özgür Özel (CHP), Beritan Güneş Altın (DEM Party), and Yasin Öztürk (İYİ Party) each made 4 speeches.

Conclusion

Youth-related discussions dominated the December agenda in TBMM, heavily influenced by budget negotiations. Key issues included youth unemployment, poverty, nepotism, political pressures, and economic challenges. Ministerial participation and intense scrutiny of the government’s youth-focused strategies reflected the critical importance of these issues. A total of 90 parliamentarians addressed youth topics during the month, emphasizing the need for continued engagement and solution-oriented discourse.

The qualitative aspects of these discussions will be further analyzed in future studies to understand their long-term implications and the changing political narrative around youth in Türkiye.