1.
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
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The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament, is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence. The parliament was fundamental in the efforts of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Turkey has had a history of parliamentary government before the establishment of the current national parliament. There were two parliamentary governments during the Ottoman period in what is now Turkey, the First Constitutional Era lasted for only two years, elections being held only twice. The Second Constitutional Era is considered to have begun on 23 July 1908, freedom to hold meetings and establish political parties was recognized, and the government was held responsible to the assembly, not to the sultan. During the two eras of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman parliament was called the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire and was bicameral. The upper house was the Senate of the Ottoman Empire, the members of which were selected by the sultan, the lower chamber of the General Assembly was the Chamber of Deputies of the Ottoman Empire, the members of which were elected by the general public. After World War I, the victorious Allied Powers sought the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire through the Treaty of Sèvres, the political existence of the Turkish nation was to be completely eliminated under these plans, except for a small region. Nationalist Turkish sentiment rose in the Anatolian peninsula, engendering the establishment of the Turkish national movement, the political developments during this period have made a lasting impact which continues to affect the character of the Turkish nation. The Sultanate was abolished by the newly founded parliament in 1922 and he also stated that the members of the dispersed Ottoman Chamber of Deputies could also participate in the assembly in Ankara, to increase the representative power of the parliament. These elections were held as planned, in the style of the elections of the preceding Chamber of Deputies and this Grand National Assembly, established on national sovereignty, held its inaugural session on 23 April 1920. From this date until the end of the Turkish War of Independence in 1923, the Liberal Party was dissolved on 17 November 1930 and no further attempt at a multiparty democracy was made until 1945. The multi-party period in Turkey was resumed by the founding of the National Development Party, by Nuri Demirağ, under the constitution of 1961, the Grand National Assembly was a bicameral parliament with over 600 members, the newly established upper house being the Senate of the Republic. Following the 1980 military coup, the Senate was dissolved and the Turkish parliament again became unicameral under the current constitution approved in a referendum in 1982. To avoid a hung parliament and its political fragmentation, a party must win at least 10% of the national vote to qualify for representation in the parliament. As a result of this threshold, only two won seats in the legislature after the 2002 elections and three in 2007. The 2002 elections saw every party represented in the previous parliament ejected from the chamber and this rather high threshold has been internationally criticised, but a complaint with the European Court for Human Rights was turned down
2.
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
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The Republican Peoples Party is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of the Republic of Turkey and is currently the opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican Peoples Party describes itself as a modern social-democratic party, also, the party is cited as the founding party of modern Turkey. The political party was established during the Congress of Sivas in 1919 as a union of resistance groups against the invasion of Anatolia, the union represented Turkish people as a unified front during the Turkish War of Independence. On 9 September 1923, the Peoples Party officially declared itself as an organization and on October 29,1923. On 10 November 1924, the Peoples Party renamed itself to Republican Peoples Party as Turkey moved into a one-party period, during the one-party period, the CHP became the major political organisation of a one-party state. Both of which, however, were banned within a few months of their establishment by the state for veering too closely to Islamism and this experience was followed by the founding of the National Development Party by Nuri Demirağ in 1945. The current structure of the party was established within the transition to the multi-party period, after World War II, the leader of the CHP İsmet İnönü introduced democratic elections to Turkish society. Due to widespread dissatisfaction with the CHP in the four years after its victory in the first multi-party general election, celâl Bayar then replaced İnönü as President. During the interim multi-party periods in between the military coups of 1960,1971, and 1980, CHP is regarded as being social-democratic, state nationalistic and secular/laicist. The partys logo consists of the Six Arrows, which represent the principles of Kemalism, republicanism, nationalism, statism, populism, laïcité. The CHP, along all other political parties of the time, was closed down for a brief period by the military coup of 1980. An inheritor party which still participates in Turkish democratic life was established in 1984 by the name of the Democratic Left Party, created by the leader of CHP. CHP was finally re-established with its name on 9 September 1992. Nevertheless, the relationship between CHP and some trade unions, business chambers and most non-governmental organisations alienated many voters. The distance between the party administration and many leftist grassroots, especially left oriented Kurdish voters, contributed to the shift away from the political left. CHP urged the Socialist International to accept Republican Turkish Party of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus as an observer member, at the 2007 general election CHP ran in alliance with Democratic Left Party. CHP suffered a defeat, getting 7,300,234 votes
3.
Turkey
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Turkey, officially the Republic of Turkey, is a transcontinental country in Eurasia, mainly in Anatolia in Western Asia, with a smaller portion on the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. Turkey is a democratic, secular, unitary, parliamentary republic with a cultural heritage. The country is encircled by seas on three sides, the Aegean Sea is to the west, the Black Sea to the north, and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. The Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the Dardanelles, Ankara is the capital while Istanbul is the countrys largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. Approximately 70-80% of the countrys citizens identify themselves as ethnic Turks, other ethnic groups include legally recognised and unrecognised minorities. Kurds are the largest ethnic minority group, making up approximately 20% of the population, the area of Turkey has been inhabited since the Paleolithic by various ancient Anatolian civilisations, as well as Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians and Armenians. After Alexander the Greats conquest, the area was Hellenized, a process continued under the Roman Empire. The Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm ruled Anatolia until the Mongol invasion in 1243, the empire reached the peak of its power in the 16th century, especially during the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent. During the war, the Ottoman government committed genocides against its Armenian, Assyrian, following the war, the conglomeration of territories and peoples that formerly comprised the Ottoman Empire was partitioned into several new states. Turkey is a member of the UN, an early member of NATO. Turkeys growing economy and diplomatic initiatives have led to its recognition as a regional power while her location has given it geopolitical, the name of Turkey is based on the ethnonym Türk. The first recorded use of the term Türk or Türük as an autonym is contained in the Old Turkic inscriptions of the Göktürks of Central Asia, the English name Turkey first appeared in the late 14th century and is derived from Medieval Latin Turchia. Similarly, the medieval Khazar Empire, a Turkic state on the shores of the Black. The medieval Arabs referred to the Mamluk Sultanate as al-Dawla al-Turkiyya, the Ottoman Empire was sometimes referred to as Turkey or the Turkish Empire among its European contemporaries. The Anatolian peninsula, comprising most of modern Turkey, is one of the oldest permanently settled regions in the world, various ancient Anatolian populations have lived in Anatolia, from at least the Neolithic period until the Hellenistic period. Many of these peoples spoke the Anatolian languages, a branch of the larger Indo-European language family, in fact, given the antiquity of the Indo-European Hittite and Luwian languages, some scholars have proposed Anatolia as the hypothetical centre from which the Indo-European languages radiated. The European part of Turkey, called Eastern Thrace, has also been inhabited since at least forty years ago. It is the largest and best-preserved Neolithic site found to date, the settlement of Troy started in the Neolithic Age and continued into the Iron Age
4.
President of Turkey
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The President of the Republic of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The Presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has important functions. The articles from 101 to 106 of the Constitution establish all the requirements, election, duties, the office of the President of Turkey was established with the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey on October 29,1923. The President of Turkey is often referred to as the Cumhurbaşkanı. The current office-holder is the 12th President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since August 28,2014, in order to become the President of Turkey, the candidate must have completed higher education, and be at least forty years of age. The president-elect has to sever his relations, if any, with his political party, candidates must be declared to the bureau of the parliament within the first 10 days of this period, and elections must be completed within the remaining 20 days. Formerly, the President was elected by the members of the Turkish Parliament, according to an amendment that was drafted in 2007, the future Presidents shall be elected by the citizens through a public vote. The candidates must be over forty years old and must have completed their higher education and they can either be members of the Turkish Parliament, or common Turkish citizens who fulfill these requirements and who are eligible to become members of parliament. The President is selected for a term of office of five years, the term of office of the incumbent president continues until the President-elect takes office. The president performs also the duties of selection and appointment, and other duties conferred by the constitution, thus the prime minister and the concerned ministers are accountable for these decrees. The decisions and orders signed by the president on his own initiatives may not be appealed against to any judicial authority, including the Constitutional Court
5.
Turkish presidential election, 2007
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The 2007 Turkish presidential election refers to two attempts to elect the countrys 11th president, to succeed Ahmet Necdet Sezer. The most likely candidate for president was Abdullah Gül, the first attempt consisted of the first rounds on 27 April and its repeat on 6 May after Turkeys constitutional court annulled the first round on 27 April. The constitutional court decided that a quorum of two-thirds was necessary, both first rounds were almost entirely boycotted by opposition MPs to disable the voting to start. Therefore, the ruling Justice and Development Party was unsuccessful in electing its candidate, AK Party then called a snap election which was held on July 22,2007. The general elections saw it returned to government with a proportion of the vote. Subsequently, Gül was renominated and was elected in the third round of the second attempt of presidential election. The first round of voting was on 20 August, while a second was on 24 August. There was a quorum this time, since opposition parties, most importantly the Nationalist Movement Party. The presidential vote is held among MPs in parliament by secret ballot, a candidate requires a two-thirds majority to be elected in the first two rounds. If there is no clear winner before the round, the winning threshold is dropped to a simple majority. If there is no winner, the two candidates with the most votes from the third round progress to a runoff election, where the simple majority rule still applies. In the event of no clear winner among the two, the Constitution states that a general election must be called to overcome the parliamentary deadlock. In addition, the opposition party, CHP argued that a quorum of two-thirds was necessary while the ruling party. Later, the court ruled that a quorum of two-thirds was necessary. Abdullah Güls candidacy was announced by Erdoğan on April 24,2007 while calling Gül as his brother and he was the official candidate of the Justice and Development Party, thus making him the strongest candidate to be the 11th president of Turkey. During his campaign, he met the leaders of parties represented in the Parliament, none of the parties said that they would vote for Gül in the elections. After the Supreme Courts rule on the method, his chance to become the next president decreased since the support of Justice. On May 6,2007, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül withdrew his candidacy after the Parliament failed to achieve a quorum for a second time, ersönmez Yarbay was another candidate from the Justice and Development Party
6.
Turkish presidential election, 2014
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Presidential elections were held on 10 August 2014 in order to elect the 12th President of Turkey. Incumbent Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected outright with a majority of the vote in the first round. The election took place under reforms resulting from the 2007 constitutional referendum, over 55 million people were eligible to vote, both within Turkey and abroad. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, leader of the AKP, first elected Prime Minister in 2002, the co-leader of the Peoples Democratic Party Selahattin Demirtaş, who received the backing of 8 left-wing parties, came third with 9. 76%. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan took over as President from Abdullah Gül on 28 August, while Ahmet Davutoğlu, the historic 12-year low turnout of 74. As Gül took office on 28 August 2007, the first possible day could be 29 June, also, the Prime Minister of Turkey could be nominated for the presidency without having to resign from his post. Three candidates were nominated to participate in the election, a more detailed list of parties that endorsed them can be found in the List of parties by presidential candidates section. To run for election, a candidate needs to be nominated by at least 20 Members of Parliament in the Grand National Assembly, three candidates obtained sufficient endorsements from parliament in order to register with the Supreme Electoral Council. The Electoral Council forbids any potential candidate from nominating themselves, since this would give advantage to prospective candidates who were sitting Members of Parliament. The AKP began collecting signatures for a candidate from all 311 eligible MPs out of their 312-seat total. Due to the debate on whether the CHPs candidate Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu adhered to secular, six CHP MPs protested their leaders choice of candidate by attempting to nominate Emine Ülker Tarhan instead, though she herself stated that she would not stand as a candidate. Out of the 14 independent MPs, three supported İhsanoğlu while two supported Demirtaş, with the remaining 9 boycotting the process altogether. Only 536 seats out of the 550 are occupied, with many vacant MPs having resigned or serving prison sentences due to their roles in the PKK, or the Sledgehammer, Turkish and international media speculated that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would almost certainly be the AKPs candidate for the Presidency. This was proven correct on 1 July when Erdoğans candidacy was announced, Abdullah Gül, the outgoing President of Turkey elected in 2007 caused media speculation regarding a potential candidacy in January 2014. He announced that he would not stand on 29 June 2014, a full list of possible AKP candidates which at one point showed intentions of running for election is as follows. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, leader of the AKP and Prime Minister of Turkey, Abdullah Gül, Prime Minister of Turkey, President of Turkey. Bülent Arınç, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey and Speaker of Parliament, the two main opposition parties, the Republican Peoples Party and the Nationalist Movement Party had both expressed interest in fielding a joint candidate after the March 2014 local elections. In an unofficial vote of CHP MPs, Eskişehir mayor Yılmaz Büyükerşen was seen as a potential forerunner, a list of potential candidates which had expressed interest in running, or had been recommended as a candidate of the CHP or its parliamentary sister party DSP is as follows
7.
Turkish general election, June 2015
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The Turkish general election of June 2015 took place on 7 June 2015 in all 85 electoral districts of Turkey to elect 550 members to the Grand National Assembly. This was the 24th general election in the history of the Turkish Republic, the result was the first hung parliament since the 1999 general election. Unsuccessful attempts to form a coalition government resulted in a general election being called for November 2015. The Justice and Development Party, which had governed Turkey since 2002, lost its parliamentary majority, the main opposition Republican Peoples Party also fared worse than their 2011 result, and won 132 seats with 25. 0% of the vote. The Nationalist Movement Party had been projected to win over many disaffected voters from the AKP and its share of the vote increased, and the party won 80 seats with 16. 3% of the vote. The party fared better than expectations, it won 13. 1% of the vote and took 80 seats, campaigning before the election focused mainly on a faltering economy, the political conflict between the government and the Gülen Movement, and Turkeys involvement in the Syrian Civil War. The vote was seen by some as a referendum on President Recep Tayyip Erdoğans call for an executive presidency, Electoral fraud claims and political violence caused controversy in the run-up to the election. Several candidates and party offices were subject to politically motivated attacks, the governing Justice and Development Party sought a fourth consecutive term in government. Its leader, Ahmet Davutoğlu, who had taken over from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in August 2014, the Republican Peoples Party aimed to surpass the 30% boundary and to form a government, potentially with the help of smaller parties or in its own right. The CHPs leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu had publicly stated that his party would target 35% of the vote, popular support for the Nationalist Movement Party had surged during the 2014 local elections, and it aimed to participate in a coalition government. However, several politicians from the CHP and MHP resigned in protest against their unrealistic electoral prospects, the most prominent break-away party was the Anatolia Party formed by former CHP MP Emine Ülker Tarhan in November 2014. This election is the last election - presidential, local and general - scheduled in Turkey until 2019, speculation as to what the AKP government will do during four years of electorally unchecked power should they win generated both favourable predictions and concerns. The AKP also support a system, which would give greater powers to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. This would allow the AKPs new leader to seek a mandate in their own right rather than serving the remainder of Erdoğans term before seeking re-election. Although Erdoğan did win outright with 51. 79% of the vote, despite this, speculation in December 2014 as to whether the election would be brought forward in order not to clash with summer examinations remained. In the end, no initiative was taken and Supreme Electoral Council of Turkey went on with the date 7 June. Some schools changed the times of examinations in order to not clash with polling day, the AKP were widely expected to target at least 330 seats in parliament in order to pursue constitutional reforms. In the 2014 local elections, the AKP won 42. 87% of the vote, the opposition Republican Peoples Party would have won 130–145 seats, the Nationalist Movement Party would have won 75–85 and Kurdish nationalist independent candidates would win between 30–45 seats
8.
Turkish general election, November 2015
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The Turkish general election of November 2015 was held on 1 November 2015 throughout the 85 electoral districts of Turkey to elect 550 members to the Grand National Assembly. It was the 25th general election in the History of the Republic of Turkey, the election resulted in the Justice and Development Party regaining a Parliamentary majority following a shock victory, having lost it five months earlier in the June 2015 general election. The snap election was called by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on 24 August 2015 after the June election resulted in a hung parliament and coalition negotiations broke down. The election rendered the 25th Parliament of Turkey, elected in June, the election was preceded by the deadliest terrorist attack in Turkeys modern history, after two suicide bombers killed 102 people attending a peace rally in central Ankara. Numerous political parties, notably the main opposition Republican Peoples Party, Fehmi Demir, the leader of the Rights and Freedoms Party, was killed in a traffic accident six days before the election. With 49. 5% of the vote and 317 seats, the party won a majority of 84. The results were seen as a shock win for the AKP and was hailed as a massive personal victory for President Erdoğan. The MHP and the HDP both saw decreases in support, with both hovering dangerously close to the 10% election threshold needed to win seats, Turkish politics is largely dominated by four main parties. The main opposition Republican Peoples Party has remained as the second largest party since 2002, observing a centre-left social democratic, the Nationalist Movement Party observes a Turkish nationalist ideology and has maintained third party status in Parliament since the 2007 general election. The Peoples Democratic Party was founded in 2012 and originates from the left-wing Peoples Democratic Congress and it is largely seen as a pro-Kurdish party and maintains an ideology of minority rights and anti-capitalism. All four parties surpassed the 10% election threshold in the June 2015 general election and won representation in Parliament, Elections were held on 7 June 2015 in order to elect the 25th Parliament of Turkey, following the expiry of the 24th Parliaments four-year term. Suffering a 9% decrease in their share, the governing AKP won 258 out of the 550 seats,18 seats short of a majority. The CHP also suffered a decrease in their vote and seat share. The MHP and the HDP both won 80 seats, with the HDP managing to surpass the 10% election threshold despite concerns that it could fall below the boundary, the election resulted in the first hung parliament since the 1999 general election. The election result immediately raised speculation over a general election. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan invited AKP leader Ahmet Davutoğlu to form a government on 9 July 2015, if a government was not formed within 45 days, then Erdoğan reserved the right to either extend the 45-day period or call an early election. After being asked to form a government by virtue of leading the largest party in Parliament, the CHP had previously made it a condition that any coalition deal should last for four years, the entire duration of the parliamentary term. Stating that early elections were the most likely possibility, Davutoğlu requested a meeting with MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli in a attempt to form an AKP-MHP coalition
9.
Turkish local elections, 2009
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Turkey held local elections on 29 March 2009. The overall winner was the ruling party Justice and Development Party, the third largest party, the Turkish nationalist MHP, enjoyed a more modest vote surge. The election was not contested by Cem Uzans GP, the AKP failed to take certain provinces it had publicly targeted, such as Diyarbakır, İzmir and Urfa, and did not achieve its goal of exceeding 47% of the overall vote. There was localized election-related fighting in southeastern Turkey, in five people were reported to have been killed. The provisional results for provincial councils are given below,1 Figures are provisional and will be subject to official review,2 Great Union Party leader Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu died in a helicopter crash four days before the local elections. Elections were also held for district mayors as well as neighbourhood presidents
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