Turkish Parliament Petition Commission activity

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) Petition Commission has reported significant volumes of public applications. An activity report for the 4th Legislative Year of the 28th Term noted that the commission received 17,489 applications, with the majority—14,709—submitted via the e-Petition system. The most frequent subjects included labor and social security, justice services, education, and urbanism, with Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir providing the highest number of submissions.

Subsequent reporting for September indicated a monthly volume of 1,426 applications, averaging approximately 48 per day. While justice and labor remained key areas of interest, specific citizen requests for legal reforms emerged, including proposals for green passports for citizens over 60, changes to university program durations, laws against social media bullying, and mandates for salary transparency in job advertisements. Other requests focused on labor rights, such as increased annual leave, and religious accommodations for Alevi citizens in public institutions.

Recent detailed reporting on these September submissions highlights a diverse range of citizen interests. Beyond standard labor and justice concerns, proposals included limiting alimony based on marriage duration and providing severance pay for resigned employees. More unconventional requests were also noted, such as implementing a ‘singleness tax’, connecting Ankara to Tekirdağ, and establishing defense protocols for ‘potential extraterrestrial threats’.