Parliament Membership during the Single-Party System in Turkey (1925-1945)

The official legitimization of the single-party regime in Turkey lay with Parliament, which, as a representative of the people, controlled the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. However, the parliamentary period after 1925 was highlighted by a lack of freedom of speech, with scope for pol...

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Main Author: Cemil Koçak
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Association pour la Recherche sur le Moyen-Orient 2015-03-01
Series:European Journal of Turkish Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/ejts/497
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author Cemil Koçak
author_facet Cemil Koçak
author_sort Cemil Koçak
collection DOAJ
description The official legitimization of the single-party regime in Turkey lay with Parliament, which, as a representative of the people, controlled the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. However, the parliamentary period after 1925 was highlighted by a lack of freedom of speech, with scope for political discussion limited. This paper aims to establish the role of MPs during this period. At the head of the single-party system, the President was free to choose every party member for Parliament. This meant competition was very restricted, be it in the form of short-lived opposition parties or independent candidates. During the selection process, some social classes, for example high-ranking officer and bureaucrats were privileged. These two groups were the most common in Parliament. On the other hand, local ties were sometimes respected by the regime: rural notables with close relations with party headquarters were easily elected, and remained in Parliament. A MPs’ chance of re-election was significant if he performed his duty with loyalty to the party. The author underlines a stabilization of political personnel throughout this period.
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spelling doaj-art-e2c61d74a5bf49ac89fbe91c24a6af512025-08-20T01:55:02ZengAssociation pour la Recherche sur le Moyen-OrientEuropean Journal of Turkish Studies1773-05462015-03-01310.4000/ejts.497Parliament Membership during the Single-Party System in Turkey (1925-1945)Cemil KoçakThe official legitimization of the single-party regime in Turkey lay with Parliament, which, as a representative of the people, controlled the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. However, the parliamentary period after 1925 was highlighted by a lack of freedom of speech, with scope for political discussion limited. This paper aims to establish the role of MPs during this period. At the head of the single-party system, the President was free to choose every party member for Parliament. This meant competition was very restricted, be it in the form of short-lived opposition parties or independent candidates. During the selection process, some social classes, for example high-ranking officer and bureaucrats were privileged. These two groups were the most common in Parliament. On the other hand, local ties were sometimes respected by the regime: rural notables with close relations with party headquarters were easily elected, and remained in Parliament. A MPs’ chance of re-election was significant if he performed his duty with loyalty to the party. The author underlines a stabilization of political personnel throughout this period.https://journals.openedition.org/ejts/497ottoman constitutionsingle-party systemelectionsparliamentCHP
spellingShingle Cemil Koçak
Parliament Membership during the Single-Party System in Turkey (1925-1945)
European Journal of Turkish Studies
ottoman constitution
single-party system
elections
parliament
CHP
title Parliament Membership during the Single-Party System in Turkey (1925-1945)
title_full Parliament Membership during the Single-Party System in Turkey (1925-1945)
title_fullStr Parliament Membership during the Single-Party System in Turkey (1925-1945)
title_full_unstemmed Parliament Membership during the Single-Party System in Turkey (1925-1945)
title_short Parliament Membership during the Single-Party System in Turkey (1925-1945)
title_sort parliament membership during the single party system in turkey 1925 1945
topic ottoman constitution
single-party system
elections
parliament
CHP
url https://journals.openedition.org/ejts/497
work_keys_str_mv AT cemilkocak parliamentmembershipduringthesinglepartysysteminturkey19251945