By Muhammet Emin Avundukluoglu</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Long sidelined by illness, a senior Turkish lawmaker was finally sworn in on Thursday for the current parliament, some eight months after winning reelection.</p> <p>By taking the oath of office, Deniz Baykal, former leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), made his long-delayed return to the Turkish parliament, appearing for the first time since the general elections last June.</p> <p>Baykal, who represents the Mediterranean Antalya province, has suffered from circulatory problems in a major artery, and since October 2017 has been in hospitals in the capital Ankara and Munich, Germany receiving treatment, therapy, and rehabilitation.
Now 80, when Baykal first won a parliamentary seat in 1973, he was the youngest Turkish deputy.
Baykal has demonstrated “a huge struggle during his political life, ” said Deputy Parliament Speaker Levent Gok on the day Baykal rejoined the fold.
“I wish you health and peace, ” he added.
Also attending the delayed swearing-in ceremony were CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli.
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