Politics of Turkey takes place in a framework of a strictly
secularSecularism is the concept that government or other entities should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs.In one sense, secularism may assert the right to be free from religious rule and teachings, and freedom from the government imposition of religion upon the people, within a...
parliamentaryA parliamentary system is a system of government where in the ministers of the executive branch are drawn from the legislature, and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined...
representative democraticElectoral democracies require a majority of the votes cast. Many representative democracies are constitutional republics in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law".- Criticisms :...
republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
, whereby the Prime Minister of Turkey is the
head of governmentHead of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc...
, and of a
multi-party systemA multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition....
.
Turkey's political system is based on a separation of powers.
Executive powerExecutive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counterterrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
and the
Grand National Assembly of TurkeyThe Grand National Assembly of Turkey is the unicameral parliament of Turkey which is the sole 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
judiciaryThe judiciary is the system of courts which interprets and applies the law in the name of the sovereign or state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Its current
constitutionThe current Constitution of Turkey, ratified in 1982, establishes the organization of the government of the Republic of Turkey and sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct along with its responsibilities towards its citizens...
was adopted on November 7, 1982 after a period of military rule, and enshrines the principle of secularism.
The function of
head of stateHead of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state...
is performed by the president
(Cumhurbaşkanı).
Politics of Turkey takes place in a framework of a strictly
secularSecularism is the concept that government or other entities should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs.In one sense, secularism may assert the right to be free from religious rule and teachings, and freedom from the government imposition of religion upon the people, within a...
parliamentaryA parliamentary system is a system of government where in the ministers of the executive branch are drawn from the legislature, and are accountable to that body, such that the executive and legislative branches are intertwined...
representative democraticElectoral democracies require a majority of the votes cast. Many representative democracies are constitutional republics in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law".- Criticisms :...
republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
, whereby the Prime Minister of Turkey is the
head of governmentHead of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled Prime Minister, President of the Government, Premier, etc...
, and of a
multi-party systemA multi-party system is a system in which three or more political parties have the capacity to gain control of government separately or in coalition....
.
Turkey's political system is based on a separation of powers.
Executive powerExecutive Power is Vince Flynn's fifth novel, and the fourth to feature Mitch Rapp, an American agent that works for the CIA as an operative for a covert counterterrorism unit called the "Orion Team."-Plot summary:...
is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the
governmentA government is the body within a community, political entity or organization which has the authority to make and enforce rules, laws and regulations.....
and the
Grand National Assembly of TurkeyThe Grand National Assembly of Turkey is the unicameral parliament of Turkey which is the sole 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
judiciaryThe judiciary is the system of courts which interprets and applies the law in the name of the sovereign or state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
is independent of the executive and the legislature.
Its current
constitutionThe current Constitution of Turkey, ratified in 1982, establishes the organization of the government of the Republic of Turkey and sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct along with its responsibilities towards its citizens...
was adopted on November 7, 1982 after a period of military rule, and enshrines the principle of secularism.
Executive branch
The function of
head of stateHead of state is the generic term for the individual or collective office that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state...
is performed by the president
(Cumhurbaşkanı). A president is elected every five years by the Grand National Assembly. The president does not have to be a member of parliament. The current, President
Abdullah GülAbdullah Gül, GCB, GColIH, Ph.D. is the 11th President of the Republic of Turkey, serving in that office since 28 August 2007...
, was elected by Parliament on August 28, 2007.
Executive power rests with the
prime minister (Başbakan) and the Council of Ministers
(Bakanlar Kurulu). The ministers don't have to be members of Parliament (an example is
Kemal DervişKemal Derviş is a Turkish economist and politician. He was born on January 10, 1949 in Istanbul to a Turkish father and a Dutch-German mother.As Minister for Economic Affairs in Turkey when Bülent Ecevit was prime minister, Derviş was the architect of Turkey's successful three-year economic...
). The prime minister is elected by the parliament through a vote of confidence in his government. The prime minister is
Recep Tayyip ErdoğanRecep Tayyip Erdoğan is a Turkish politician, a former mayor of Istanbul and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey since 14 March, 2003...
, whose Islamic conservative
AKPThe Justice and Development Party is the incumbent Turkish political party. The AKP portrays itself as a moderate, conservative, pro-Western party that advocates a liberal market economy and Turkish membership in the European Union. In 2005, the AKP was granted observer membership in the European...
won a majority of parliamentary seats in the
2002 general electionsTurkey's 15th general election was held on November 3, 2002 following the collapse of the DSP-MHP-ANAP coalition led by Bülent Ecevit. It was won by the Justice and Development Party , led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, producing a crushing majority in spite of their winning just 34.3% of the national vote...
.
The Chairman of the Parliament is
Köksal ToptanKöksal Toptan is a Turkish lawyer and politician with the AKP. He earlier served as government minister in three cabinets. He now acts as the speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey....
; from the same party. The current president of the Constitutional Court is
Haşim KılıçHaşim Kılıç is a high-ranked judge and the President of the Constitutional Court of Turkey as of October 22, 2007.-Biography:...
. The Chief of Staff of the Turkish military is
İlker BaşbuğMehmet İlker Başbuğ is the 26th and current Chief of the Turkish General Staff, since 30 August 2008. In this post he succeeds Mehmet Yaşar Büyükanıt.-Biography:...
.
Legislative branch
LegislativeA legislature is a type of deliberative assembly with the power to pass, amend and repeal laws. The law created by a legislature is called legislation or statutory law...
power is invested in the 550-seat
Grand National Assembly of TurkeyThe Grand National Assembly of Turkey is the unicameral parliament of Turkey which is the sole 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...
(
Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi), representing 81 provinces. The members are elected for a five year term by mitigated
proportional representationProportional representation , sometimes referred to as full representation, is a category of electoral formula aimed at securing a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates obtain in elections and the percentage of seats they receive...
with an
election thresholdIn party-list proportional representation systems, an election threshold is a clause that stipulates that a party must receive a minimum percentage of votes, either nationally or within a particular district, to get any seats in the parliament. The effect of the threshold is to deny small parties...
of 10%. To be represented in Parliament, a party must win at least 10% of the national vote in a national parliamentary election. Independent candidates may run, and to be elected, they must only win 10% of the vote in the province from which they are running. The Turkish military plays an informal political role, seeing itself as the guardian of the secular, unitary nature of the republic. Political parties deemed anti-secular or separatist by the judiciary can be banned. Turkey has a multi-party system, with several strong
partiesPolitical Parties: A Sociological Study of the Oligarchical Tendencies of Modern Democracy is a book by sociologist Robert Michels, published in 1911 , and first introducing the concept of iron law of oligarchy...
.
The threshold is set to be reduced.
Political principles of importance in Turkey
The Turkish Constitution and most mainstream political parties are built on the following principles:
- Kemalism
- Laicism
In French, laïcité is a concept of a secular society, connoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. During the twentieth century, it evolved to mean equal treatment of all religions, although a more...
- Modernization
Modernization is a concept used in sociology and politics. It is the view that a standard, teleological evolutionary pattern, as described in the social evolutionism theories, exists as a template for all nations and peoples...
Other political ideas have also influenced Turkish politics and modern history. Of particular importance are:
- Conservatism
Conservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
- Neo-liberalism
- Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism Arabic: usul , is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah.Definitions of the term vary...
- Kurdish separatism
- Pan-Turkism
Pan-Turkism is a political movement started more than 100 years ago aiming to unite the various Turkic peoples into a modern political state.-Name:...
- Socialism
Socialism refers to various theories of economic organization advocating public or direct worker ownership and administration of the means of production and allocation of resources, and a society characterized by equal access to resources for all individuals with a method of compensation based on...
These principles are the continuum around which various - and often rapidly changing - political parties and groups have campaigned (and sometimes fought). On a superficial level, the importance which state officials attach to these principles and their posts can be seen in their response to breaches of
protocolIn international politics, protocol is the etiquette of diplomacy and affairs of state.A protocol is a rule which guides how an activity should be performed, especially in the field of diplomacy. In diplomatic services and governmental fields of endeavor protocols are often unwritten guidelines...
in official ceremonies.
Political parties and elections
Since 1950, parliamentary politics has been dominated by
conservativeConservatism is the diverse political and social philosophy that supports tradition and the status quo, or that calls for a return to the values and society of an earlier age, the status quo ante. However, the term has been used by politicians and political commentators with a variety of meanings...
parties. Even the ruling
AKPThe Justice and Development Party is the incumbent Turkish political party. The AKP portrays itself as a moderate, conservative, pro-Western party that advocates a liberal market economy and Turkish membership in the European Union. In 2005, the AKP was granted observer membership in the European...
, although its core cadres root from the Islamist current, tends to identify itself with the "tradition" of
DPDemocratic Party may refer to:* Democratic Party * Democratic Party...
. The leftist parties, most notable of which is
CHPThe Republican People's Party is the oldest political party in the Republic of Turkey and is the main party of the Centre-left. The party was established during the Congress of Sivas as a union of resistance groups against the invasion of Anatolia. The union represented Turkish people as a...
, with a stable
electorateA constituency is any cohesive body of people bound by shared identity, goals, or loyalty. Constituency can be used to describe a business's customer base and shareholders, or a charity's donors or those it serves...
, draw much of their support from big cities, coastal regions, professional middle-class, and minority groups such as
AleviThe Alevi are a religious, sub-ethnic and cultural community in Turkey, numbering in the tens of millions . Alevism is considered one of the many branches of Islam. However, Alevi worship takes place in assembly houses rather than mosques. The ceremony , features music and dance...
s and Kurds.
July 2007 election results and analysis
The
AKPThe name Justice and Development Party is used by a several political parties:* Justice and Development Party * Justice and Development Party See also: List of political parties and Justice Party....
won 46.76% of the vote giving them 341 parliamentary seats.
CHPRepublican People's Party may be:*Republican People's Party *Republican People's Party *Republican Popular Party See also:* Russian Republican People's Party...
received 20.64%, which translating to control of 110 seats.
MHPThe Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in TurkeyOn July 22, 2007 legislative elections, the party won 14.3% of the national vote and 71 seats in the parliament...
took third place with 14.33%, giving the party 71 seats. The independents (whose majority are the leftist pro-Kurdish
Democratic Society PartyDemocratic Society Party is a Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. The party considers itself as social-democratic, and has observer status within the Socialist International. It is considered to be the successor of the Democratic People's Party .The party was founded in 2005, as the...
candidates) won 28 seats. The DTP is the successor to the previous pro-Kurdish party, the
DHPThe Democratic People's Party was a pro-Kurdish political party in Turkey. DEHAP was founded October 24 1997...
. Independent candidates are not subject to the 10% threshold constraint placed on political parties.
European Union officials welcomed the AKP's sweeping victory, describing it as "a mandate for the reforms it wants Turkey to complete during its membership talks." The AKP nonetheless lacks the two-thirds majority in parliament necessary to push through legislation.
Judicial branch
The freedom and independence of the Judicial System is protected within the constitution. There is no organization, person, or institution which can interfere in the running of the courts, and the executive and legislative structures must obey the courts' decisions. The courts, which are independent in discharging their duties, must explain each ruling on the basis of the provisions of the Constitution, the laws, jurisprudence, and their personal convictions.
The Judicial system is highly structured. Turkish courts have no jury system; judges render decisions after establishing the facts in each case based on evidence presented by lawyers and prosecutors. For minor civil complaints and offenses, justices of the peace take the case. This court has a single judge. It has jurisdiction over misdemeanors and petty crimes, with penalties ranging from small fines to brief prison sentences. Three-judge courts of first instance have jurisdiction over major civil suits and serious crimes. Any conviction in a criminal case can be taken to a court of Appeals for judicial review.
All courts are open to the public. When a case is closed to the public, the court has to publish the reason. Judge and prosecution structures are secured by the constitution. Except with their own consent, no judge or prosecutor can be dismissed, have his/her powers restricted, or be forced to retire. However, the retirement age restrictions do apply. The child courts have their own structure.
A judge can be audited for misconduct only with the Ministry of Justice's permission, in which case a special task force of justice experts and senior judges is formed.
The High Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors is the principal body charged with responsibility for ensuring judicial integrity, and determines professional judges acceptance and court assignments.
Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is still in head of the High Council.
Turkey is adapting a new national "Judicial Networking System" (UYAP). The court decisions and documents (case info, expert reports, etc) will be accessible via the Internet.
Turkey accepts the
European Court of Human RightsThe European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states...
' decisions as a higher court decision. Turkey also accepts as legally binding any decisions on international agreements.
Factor of the military
Since
Mustafa Kemal AtatürkMustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, and founder of the Republic of Turkey as well as its first President....
founded the modern secular Republic of Turkey in 1923, the Turkish military has perceived itself as the guardian of Kemalism, the official state ideology, even though Atatürk himself insisted on separating the military from politics. The
Turkish Armed ForcesThe Turkish Armed Forces consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force of the Republic of Turkey and Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard operate as components of the internal security forces in peacetime, and are subordinate to the Turkish Ministry of...
still maintain an important degree of influence over Turkish politics and the decision-making process regarding issues related to Turkish national security, albeit decreased in the past decades, via the
National Security CouncilThe National Security Council comprises the Chief of Staff, select members of the Council of Ministers, and the President of the Republic...
.
The military has had a record of intervening in politics. Indeed, it assumed power for several periods in the latter half of the 20th century. It executed
coup d'etatsA coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...
in 1960, 1971, and 1980. Most recently, it maneuvered the removal of the Islamic-oriented prime minister,
Necmettin ErbakanNecmettin Erbakan, , is a Turkish engineer, academic, politician , and was the Prime Minister of Turkey from 1996 until 1997. He was Turkey's first Islamist Prime Minister...
, in 1997.
In April 27, 2007, in advance of the November 4, 2007 presidential election, and in reaction to the politics of the ruling
Justice and Development PartyThe name Justice and Development Party is used by a several political parties:* Justice and Development Party * Justice and Development Party See also: List of political parties and Justice Party....
, which has the majority of seats in the parliament, the army issued a statement of its interests. It said that the army is a party in "arguments" over
secularismSecularism is the concept that government or other entities should exist separately from religion and/or religious beliefs.In one sense, secularism may assert the right to be free from religious rule and teachings, and freedom from the government imposition of religion upon the people, within a...
. Its statement closed with a veiled warning that the Turkish Armed Forces stood ready to intercede in politics, "The Turkish Armed Forces maintain their sound determination to carry out their duties stemming from laws to protect the unchangeable characteristics of the Republic of Turkey. Their loyalty to this determination is absolute."