Turkish opposition deputies donate to help chairman

<p>By Meltem Ozturk</p> <p>ANKARA (AA) – Members of Turkey’s main opposition party are pooling their resources to help their chairman, who owes money after being convicted of making false claims about the nation’s president.</p> <p>In a series of lawsuits over false claims about President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his relatives, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kilicdaroglu owes some 828,000 Turkish liras ($150,000) in damages.</p> <p>The CHP parliamentary group on Wednesday decided that its lawmakers would transfer 5,000 Turkish liras ($903) from their quarterly salaries to help Kilicdaroglu.</p> <p>&quot;We're ready to pay the price of the rulings on the CHP chairman,&quot; Engin Ozkoc, the party’s deputy parliamentary group head, told reporters.</p> <p>Ozkoc added that they made the decision without consulting or informing Kilicdaroglu.</p> <p>Turkish lawmakers are paid 60,938 Turkish liras ($11,180) every three months.</p> <p>The CHP, which holds 142 seats in the 600-seat parliament, also hopes to convince party members to donate, said Ozkoc.</p> <p> </p>