According to the draft law prepared by the AKP, those who publish statistics as an alternative to official statistics without having the methodology approved by TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute) will be subject to imprisonment.

Following the Bill's announcement, Independent Inflation Research Group (ENAG) made a statement, reading: "ENAGroup will always share the inflation rate with our people on this page."

Under the Bill, an application will be made to TÜİK for approval of the methodology showing the study’s scope, sampling method, sample volume, data collection method and time of application before the result is made public.

The institution will finalise this application within two months. Any study which does not receive approval from TÜİK must not be presented to the public.

The reasoning claims that statistics where the methodology is unknown risks the loss of confidence in both TURKSTAT and economic indicators.

UP TO THREE YEARS IMPRISONMENT

According to the Bill, those who create and publish statistics as an alternative to official data without getting the methodology approved by TÜİK can be punished by up to three years imprisonment.

The draft law also envisages penalties such as blocking access to websites where research results are published.

AKP stated that the draft is planned to be submitted to the Turkish Grand National Assembly this week, but it has been working  on the legislation  for a while.

ENAG: WE WILL ALWAYS SHARE

TÜİK announced the consumer inflation rate of 61.14 per cent in March, the highest level since March 2002.

Meanwhile, ENAG announced this rate as 142.63 per cent. TÜİK had previously filed a criminal complaint against the group on the grounds that it damaged public trust.

In the statement, the group said: “ENAGroup will always share the inflation rate with our people on this page." (EVRENSEL DAILY)