site.btaTurkish Grand National Assembly Adopts 2026 State Budget

Turkiye's 592-member Grand National Assembly approved the country's 2026 state budget with 320 votes in favour late on Sunday, Turkish state television TRT Haber reported. The review of the 2026 State Budget Bill began on December 8.

Before the  budget was brought to the plenary hall, the parliamentary Committee on Plan and Budget held 77 meetings. At some of them, ministers defended before MPs the funds they want for next year, presenting what has been achieved so far and their goals. 

On the last day of voting on the chapters of the bill, Vice President Cevdet Yilmaz, who was directly overseeing the process, told MPs that the goal was to bring inflation, currently at 31.7%, below 20% next year. 

"With reforms that strengthen supply and manage demand, we aim to reduce inflation below 20%, and in 2027, the figures will again reach single digits," Yilmaz told the MPs. 

He described the 2026 budget as one with a strong economic framework, clear financial justification, and a focus on security and prosperity. He emphasized that it takes into account factors such as energy, climate change, digitalization, and demographics, which are also relevant to global developments. 

The budget also includes funds for strategic transport projects such as the Zangezur corridor (between Azerbaijan and its exclave Nakhchivan through Armenian territory), the railway line to Hеjaz (Saudi Arabia), and the Development Road, which starts at the port in the Iraqi city of Basra and reaches the border with Turkiye. 

Yilmaz also responded to criticism from Murat Emir, deputy head of the parliamentary group of the largest opposition force, the Republican People's Party, who said that the statistics presented were inaccurate. "Lying is the worst thing you can do in this world. I cannot accept these accusations in any way. And it is not fitting for me to use the same words when responding to you. I do not know who prepared the sheets you showed, but it is very clear that it was not an economist," said the Vice President.

During the budget debate, a scuffle broke out between MPs, and Grand National Assembly Speaker Numan Kurtulmus interrupted the session so that security guards could separate them.

After the final vote on the budget late on Sunday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan congratulated the MPs on their efforts on his social media accounts. He expressed the hope that the 2026 State Budget Act will be good for Turkiye, its people, and its economy. 

In addition to the state budget, the Final Accounts Bill was also passed.