Turkish Parliament receives 1,544 citizen petitions in April, calls for simple marriage law

The Turkish Grand National Assembly’s Petition Commission recorded 1,544 submissions in April, 86.6% of which were filed via the e‑Devlet portal. The volume rose 5.69% compared with March. Of the 1,395 petitions examined, the commission issued decisions on 783 cases, with 49 decisions appealed by deputies.

Topic analysis shows 31.33% related to commission procedures, 27.90% to other matters, 21.04% to labour and social security, and 19.71% to press and media issues. The most active submitting provinces were Istanbul, Ankara and İzmir. Notable requests included a citizen’s plea to promote “sade nikah” (simple civil marriage) to lessen the financial burden of traditional wedding expenses, a demand for designated caravan parking zones in Akçakoca, a call for university entrance quotas for men over 34, and proposals to integrate AFAD disaster‑response training for military personnel.

Other petitions sought bans on smoking in narrow sidewalks and pedestrian crossings, electronic gun‑range licensing through e‑Devlet, and stricter controls on children’s access to unregulated online games. Several submissions received concrete responses: assistance for a disabled mother was directed to local social services, an investigation into a police‑related incident was launched, and the Information and Communication Technologies Authority confirmed ongoing sector inspections.