Scenes of chaos unfolded in Turkey’s National Assembly on Monday after a heated budget debate escalated into a physical confrontation between lawmakers from the country’s two largest political parties.
Members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, clashed with deputies from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) during the final day of parliamentary discussions on the national budget. The dispute quickly spiraled into a fistfight that lasted for around ten minutes inside the chamber.
As tensions escalated, punches were exchanged and order broke down, prompting parliamentary security to intervene. However, security staff reportedly struggled to separate the lawmakers involved.
🇹🇷A fight broke out in the Turkish parliament during a vote on the budget
The scuffle began after a clash between MPs from the CHP and the AK Party and quickly escalated into a mass brawl.
Despite the incident, the central government budget bill for 2026 was ultimately passed. pic.twitter.com/3MHGf5TjS3
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) December 22, 2025
The Speaker of Parliament, Numan Kurtulmuş, was ultimately forced to suspend the session in an effort to restore order.
According to reports, the altercation began following a sharp verbal exchange between an AKP lawmaker representing the northwestern province of Bursa and a senior CHP parliamentary official. The confrontation marked one of the most serious incidents inside Turkey’s legislature in recent years, highlighting the deep political polarization surrounding the budget debate.
