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Republican People's Party (Turkey)
Encyclopedia
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left
Kemalist political party in Turkey
. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition
in the Grand National Assembly
. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to founding principles and values of the Republic [of Turkey]". Also the party is cited as "the founding party of modern Turkey".
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 unified front during the Turkish War of Independence
. On September 9, 1923, "People's Party" officially declared itself as a political organization and on October 29, 1923, announced the establishment of the Turkish Republic. On November 10, 1924, the People's Party renamed itself to "Republican People's Party" (CHP) as Turkey was moving into a single-party period.
During the singleparty period, CHP became the major political organization of single-party state
. However, CHP faced two opposition parties during this period. The first one was the Progressive Republican Party established in 1924 by some famous generals such as Kazım Karabekir
and Ali Fuat Cebesoy
of the Turkish War of Independence
and the second one was the Liberal Republican Party
founded by Ali Fethi Okyar
in 1930, both of which, however, were banned within a few months of their establishment by the "single-party state". This experience was followed by the National Development Party founded by Nuri Demirağ
, in 1945.
The current (or modern) structure of the party was established with the transition to multi-party period. After World War II
, with the title Millî Şef ("National Chief"), Gen. İsmet İnönü
, who was in lead of CHP, has introduced democratic elections to the Turkish society. Consequent reforms enabling further democratization can also be interpreted as a response to the Soviet threat since the Soviet Union
was about to get permission from the former allies to invade the Eastern part of Turkey and to limit Turkish sovereignty over her straits. Due to widespread dissatisfaction with the CHP, the party lost the first truly-democratic elections (the second general elections after 1946) of the republican era, held in 1950, and he left his seat to his old companion, Celal Bayar
.
During the interim "multi-party periods" in between the military coups of 1960, 1971, and 1980, CHP is regarded as being social-democratic (member of the Socialist International
), state nationalistic and secular/laicist. The party's logo consists of the Six Arrows, which represent the foundational principles of Kemalist Ideology
: republicanism
, nationalism
, statism
, populism
, laïcité
, and revolution
ism.
CHP, along with 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, as Democratic Left Party
by the former leader of CHP, Bülent Ecevit
. CHP was finally reestablished with its original name on September 9, 1992, with the participation of a majority of its previous members of the pre-1980 period.
The Republican People's Party is currently a centre-leftist political party with traditional ties to the middle and upper-middle classes such as white-collar workers, retired generals, government bureaucrats, academics, college students, left-leaning intellectuals and labor unions such as DİSK, and well-to-do entrepreneurs. Nevertheless, the loose relationship between CHP and some labor unions, business chambers and most non-governmental organizations alienated many voters. The distance between the party administration and many leftist grassroots, especially left oriented Kurdish voters, contributed to the party's shift away from the political left towards authoritarianism.
Despite heavy criticism from liberal and libertarian socialist interest groups, CHP still holds a significant position in the Socialist International as well as being an associate member of the Party of European Socialists. 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 heavy defeat, getting 7,300,234 votes (20.85% of the total). CHP, YTP, and DSP combined got 21.77% of the votes back in 2002
. The party could become first only in three provinces in Thrace (Edirne
, Tekirdağ
, Kırklareli
) and two provinces on the Aegean
coast (İzmir
, Muğla
). With these results, 112 candidates (13 of these MPs are DSP affiliates) were elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
from the CHP electoral sheet compared to 178 in 2002.
CHP increased its vote share from 20.9% to 23.1% in the 2009 municipal elections. The party gained considerable ground by winning Antalya
, Giresun
, Zonguldak
, Sinop
, Tekirdag
, Aydin
despite losing Trabzon
municipality. In 20 provinces of Turkey, the party received less than 3% of the votes.
During the War of Independence, 1919–1922, the parliament in Ankara was composed by different types of deputies. To have a harmony among his followers, Mustafa Kemal and his colleagues formed Müdafaa-ı Hukuk grubu (the group of Defence of the Law). The opposition to Mustafa Kemal or to the commissars elected by the parliament has united under the name of second group of Defence of the Law, simply second group (so the Mustafa Kemal followers were later called as first group). Although second group has always been minority, it could create active opposition within the parliament. In January 1923, Mustafa Kemal Pasha announced that first group would be transformed to a Party named Halk Fırkası (People's Party). In May 1923, the parliament called a bill for new elections, most probably, because Mustafa Kemal and his colleagues wanted to guarantee the peace treaty's, held in Lausanne
, approval by more unanimous parliament. The People's Party was officially founded only after the 1923 elections. The 1923 elections were definitely the victory of forthcoming Party, because of the its leaders reputation after the military victory of the War of Independence and it was the liquidation of second group. Thanks to this unanimity of this second parliament, the republic was proclaimed, the Treaty of Lausanne
was accepted and Caliphate was abolished.
However, in 1924, after the short-period of a single-party rule, many of Mustafa Kemal's ex-colleagues, for many reasons (their growing loss of power, their opposition to the short-period of a single-party rule's revolutionary activities, etc.), including Rauf Orbay
, Kâzım Karabekir
, Ali Fuat Cebesoy
and many others founded an opposition party called Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası (Progressive Republicans Party). After the foundation of an opposition party, People's Party changed his name to "Republican People's Party". The life of Progressive Republicans Party was short. In 1925 Sheikh Said rebellion
was sparked in the east of Turkey. The party was shut down because of martial law. Takrir-i Sukun and all other prominent members were sent before the Independence Courts, but none of them was found guilty and all of them were later released. From 1925 until 1946 there was single-party rule, with one interruption; Serbest Fırka
(Liberal Party) which was actually founded by Atatürk himself, and its leader was one of his closest friends, Ali Fethi Okyar
. This party was closed down by its founders shortly after the İzmir meeting, which was a huge demonstration against the Republican People's Party. In the period of 1925-1930, the Republican People's Party introduced measures transforming Turkey in to a modern State. In the period of 1930-1939, the Party transformed itself and tried to broaden its ideology (for instance, the '6 arrows' were adopted in 1930) after the Liberal Republican Party experience showed CHP leaders how fragile their rule was.
The day after Atatürk's death, İsmet İnönü was elected the second president and assumed the leadership of CHP. During the general nationwide congress of CHP on 26 December 1938, İsmet İnönü was elected as the "everlasting CHP leader". The delegates awarded Atatürk the title "eternal chief", and awarded İnönü the title "national chief".
During 1940s, CHP established Village Institutes
, which were an enlightenment project developed in order to reduce the huge gap that existed between urban and rural areas. Various scientists, writers, teachers, and doctors graduated from Village Institutes; and supported Turkey's modernization efforts.
, which were done in a "unique" fashion, whereby the votes were cast out in the open (under the watchful eyes of the state/CHP apparatus) and then they were tallied in secret by the CHP faithfuls and then burned and destroyed immediately, CHP claimed that they won the elections by a 70% majority vote and gained 396 seats and thus self-ranked as the first party. However, to protect their seats before the 1946 elections, CHP had introduced and passed the electoral legislation bringing the winner-take-all system for each province. In this system, if a party got the most votes in a province, it would have captured all MP seats for that province. However, at the elections of 1950
, Republican People's Party was hit by its own electoral system, DP gained 408 seats with 53.3% vote. This was followed by the defeat on 3 September 1950 municipal elections, in which Democratic Party (DP) gained 560 municipalities, and CHP only 40 municipalities.
Real multiparty democracy began with CHP transferring power to DP in a peaceful manner, without a revolution or a coup, in 1950. From that time on, the Republican People's Party formed the official opposition.
On 26 November 1951, during the ninth Congress of CHP, the youth branch and the women's branch of CHP were formed. On 22 June 1953, the establishment of labor unions and vocational chambers was proposed, and the right to strike for workers was added to the party program.
On 2 May 1954, CHP again lost the elections to DP, gaining only 31 seats with 35.4% of the total vote. DP captured 505 seats with 57.6% vote, due to the winner-take-all system. Following this defeat, CHP began intensifying its opposition tactics and increased its share of the votes to 41%, gaining 178 seats, in the 27 October 1957 elections. DP gained 424 seats with 47.9% vote.
In the military coup of 1960, National Unity Committee was formed by upper-class soldiers. The National Unity Committee closed the Democratic Party and started trials to punish Democratic Party leaders for their alleged dictatorial regime. As a result, on 16/17 September 1961, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes
, Foreign Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu
, and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan
were hanged in İmralı island
prison. President Celal Bayar
was forgiven due to his old age, but sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 1961, Justice Party
(AP) was established, claiming to be the successor to the Democratic Party. In the meantime, the National Unity Committee established an interim House of Representatives instead of the TBMM, in order to prepare a new constitution for Turkey. In the new constitution, the Constitutional Court was to be established, to prevent the government from violating the constitution. The 1961 constitution
is accepted to be the most liberal and democratic constitution in Turkish history. Also, the winner-take-all electoral system was immediately abolished, and proportional representation system was introduced. The new constitution brought Turkey a bicameral parliament, composed of the Senate of the Republic as the upper chamber, and National Assembly as the lower chamber. The National Unity Committee chairman General Cemal Gürsel was elected as the fourth president of Turkey.
On 15 October 1961, CHP won the elections, gaining 173 seats with the 36.7% of the vote. AP gained 158 seats, with 34.8% of the vote. CHP leader İsmet İnönü
formed the coalition with the Justice Party (AP) and became prime minister. This was the first coalition government in Turkey's history. İnönü established two coalition governments until the 1965 elections.
Süleyman Demirel
became prime minister in the late 1960s, and because he was the leader of the AP (Justice Party), he continued in the tradition of Adnan Menderes gaining a large amount of support from both the religious voters and democrats.
In 1971, the army brought down the AP government of Süleyman Demirel
. The secretary general of CHP Bülent Ecevit
protested military intervention and resigned from his post. He also criticized İnönü for not protesting the intervention. By his quick and energetic reactions, he gained support from the intellectuals and in 1972 , he succeeded İsmet İnönü as the leader of the party. Following some interim governments CHP won 1973 elections by % 33 and formed a coalition with National Salvation Party
(MSP) of Necmettin Erbakan
. Bülent Ecevit began to take on a distinct left wing role in politics and, although remaining staunchly nationalist, tried to implement socialism into the ideology of CHP. The support of party also increased after Turkish intervention to Cyprus following a coup which had been staged by the Cypriot National Guard led by Nikos Sampson
.
CHP and MSP had however very diverged ideologies, especially on secularity and in 1975 a new coalition government led by Süleyman Demirel was formed by four parties. Nevertheless CHP was still the most popular party. CHP won 1977 elections by % 41 vote, which is a record in CHP history. But CHP couldn't gain the majority of seats and from 1977 to 1979, the CHP was the main party of two brief coalition governments. But in 1980, the AP returned with Demirel. The political switching between the CHP and the AP came to an end when the military performed a coup and banned all political parties.
(ANAP) and the True Path Party
(DYP), unofficial successors of the Democrat Party.
CHP followers also tried to establish parties. But they were not allowed to use the name CHP and were not allowed to elect the well known names of pre 1980 politicians to party posts. So they had to introduce new politicians.
The three parties of CHP followers were ; Halkçı Parti (Populist Party, HP) of Necdet Calp, Social Democracy Party
of Erdal İnönü
and Demokratik Sol Parti
(Democratic Left Party, DSP) of Rahşan Ecevit
. But even these new names were chosen to remind people of CHP. Necdet Calp was İsmet İnönü’s secretary when İnönü was prime minister. Erdal İnönü (internationally known pyhsicist ) was İsmet İnönü’s son and Rahşan Ecevit was Bülent Ecevit’s wife.
The ban on pre 1980 politicians was lifted in 1987 and on pre 1980 parties was lifted in 1992. Both of these normalization steps were largely due to Erdal İnönü’s efforts. He also tried to unify the three parties; but he was only partially successful. Although SODEP and HP were united in 1985 to form Sosyal Demokrat Halkçı Parti
(Social Democratic Populist Party, SHP), DSP was not persuaded.
In 1991, since Turkey's election system had two large election thresholds (10% nationwide and 15% local thresholds) and since center-left is divided into two parties (SHP and DSP), social democrats and democratic left groups had little power in the parliament. Between 1991 and 1995, Turkey was ruled by the coalition of center-right DYP and center-left SHP (Social Democratic Populist Party) (later SHP joined CHP). The political coalitions which ruled Turkey
from the center right ANAP and DYP were making the country increasingly unstable. The Islamists returned with a new party the Refah (which was also later banned) while MHP the far right nationalist party had begun to take advantage of the disillusionment felt by former supporters of the Refah Party and the ever bickering ANAP and DYP.
In 1995, the Islamic Welfare Party
(Refah Partisi) step into Parliament, and the CHP seemed to have been deserted by the Turkish people, having only 10% nationwide support and only 49 deputies of 550. It now seemed as if the CHP had been replaced as the main left-wing party.
But the Welfare Party was banned in 1998, and during the 1990s the Democratic Left Party
(DSP), led by former CHP leader Bülent Ecevit, gained popular support. (Democratic Left Party is established by Ecevit family in 1985.) In 1998, after the resignation of RP-DYP coalition following the "February 28" post-modern and soft military coup, center-right ANAP formed a coalition government with center-left DSP and the small center-right party DTP (Democratic Turkey Party), along with the support of CHP.
However, due to big scandals, corruption and some illegal actions of this coalition, CHP withdrew its support from the coalition and helped bring down the government with a "no confidence" vote. Just before the elections of 1999, DSP formed an interim minority government with the support of DYP and ANAP; and the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan
was captured in Kenya
under the Ecevit rule.
Therefore in the elections of 1999, CHP failed to pass the 10% threshold (8.7% vote), winning no seats in Parliament. Baykal resigned in 1999, Altan Öymen
became the leader. But 1 year later, Baykal became the leader of the party again.
About a month after the general elections of 1999, a coalition government between DSP-MHP and ANAP was formed under the leadership of DSP. This government passed many important laws, including banking reform, unemployment insurance, law to ensure the autonomy of the Central Bank
, qualified industrial zones, tender law, employment incentive law, to name a few. The government also changed 34 articles of the Constitution to widen fundamental rights and freedoms, and did this with the approval of all the parties in Parliament. Turkey became a candidate country to the European Union
(without any political preconditions and with equal treatment as all other candidate countries). Three major EU harmization packages were passed during this government, including the most comprehensive package of August 3, 2002, which included the removal of the death penalty and many changes in fundamental rights and freedoms. An economic crisis which resulted from long overdue problems from previous governments caused a drop in the currency in February 2001. But 2 months later, the government passed a series of very comprehensive economic reforms which enabled the high growth of 2002-2007.
Because DSP was staunchly opposed to the invasion of Iraq by the US, a campaign to divide the DSP and force a change of government in Turkey was started. When its coalition partner MHP called for early elections in the summer of 2002, ıt was forced to enter early elections, before the results of the wide economic reforms could be felt. As a result, none of the coalition parties were able to pass the 10% national threshold.
In the 2002 Parliamentary elections, the CHP won 178 seats in Parliament, and only it and the AK Party (Justice and Development Party) entered Parliament. The CHP became the main opposition party again and Turkey's second largest party. It had begun the long road to recovery.
It must be understood however, that this had very little to do with voters supporting CHP. Many were former DSP supporters who were angry at the economic crisis that many blamed on the Ecevit government. Also many DSP and ANAP supporters left these parties for AK Party as did many MHP and Fazilet (now Saadet party) members.
Many on the left are still very critical of the leadership of CHP especially Deniz Baykal
, who they complain is stifling the party of young blood thus turning away the young who turn either to apathy or even to vote for AK Party. While AK Party boast of a young leadership who have lived through many of the difficulties of many in Turkey
CHP are seen as an 'old guard' that do not represent modern Turkey
. The leftists also are very critical of the party's continuous opposition to the removal of Article 301
of Turkish penal code; which caused people to be prosecuted for "insulting Turkishness" including Nobel Winner author Orhan Pamuk
, Elif Şafak
, and the conviction of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
, its attitude towards the minorities in Turkey, as well as its Cyprus
policy.
Despite this recovery, since the dramatic General Election of 2002, the CHP has been racked by internal power struggles, and has been outclassed by the AK Party government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
. In the local elections of 2004, its overall share of the vote held, largely through mopping up anti-Erdoğan votes among former supporters of smaller left-wing and secular right-wing parties, but was badly beaten by the AK Party across the country, losing former strongholds such as Antalya
.
Much of the blame was put on the leader of CHP Deniz Baykal. After the local elections CHP was racked by defections of several key members of the party all claiming a lack of democratic structure within the party and the increasingly authoritarian way in which Deniz Baykal runs the party. Even those who support Deniz Baykal would admit that the party would be much more successful with a different leader.
In October 2004, New Turkey Party
(Yeni Türkiye Partisi, YTP) merged into the CHP. Lately Baykal is bidding for fusing the DSP and CHP together under one roof, namely CHP, under his leadership.
In order to present a strong alternative to the AK Party in the 2007 national elections, the DSP showed a sacrifice and entered the elections together with the CHP. The CHP and DSP alliance received %20.9 of the votes and entered the Parliament with 112 Members of Parliament.
During the 2009 local elections, the party tried to attract the conservative and devout Muslims to the party by allowing women who wear the chador
to become party members including promises to introduce Koran courses if requested in every district. However, the allowing of women wearing hijab into the party was received with a severe blow when a normally non-headscarved member of CHP (Kıymet Özgür) committed a provocation by wearing a black hijab and trying to get into an election bus in Istanbul. The incident raised questions about CHP's initiatives in favor of religious freedoms. The new initiatives introduced were surprising inside and outside the party, including military leaders, which the party itself is a major defender of Kemalist principles.
On May 10, 2010, Deniz Baykal announced his resignation as leader of the Republican People's Party after a clandestinely made video tape of him, sitting on a bed where a woman is also eminent, who is identified as Nesrin Baytok, his former private secretary and a member of parliament, was leaked to the media.
Although Baykal has stepped down from the chair of his party leadership, he is still active in politics for CHP as a parliament member, and will be running for a seat in parliament from his hometown, Antalya
in 2011 elections as well.
to be the new party leader. Kılıçdaroğlu set about immediately to reform the party and many critics of the day commented positively how the Kılıçdaroğlu period would see the People's Republican Party move more to the left as in the time of Bülent Ecevit, in contrast to the Baykal period which had moved CHP more closer to centre politics to such an extent that left-wing intellectuals had started to claim how the CHP was becoming a right-wing party. Kılıçdaroğlu has seen an immense rise in popularity and support throughout the countries and for the first time in twenty years, the party has become directly active in the eastern parts of the Republic. In late 2010, the party held a Great Election where the Party Leader's cabinet was reformed. It marked the end of the 'Baykal - Onder Sav' era completely where all opposition to the changing policy of the CHP was swiftly removed.
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
Kemalist political party in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition
Opposition (parliamentary)
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. Note that this article uses the term government as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning the administration or the cabinet rather than the state...
in the Grand National Assembly
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It 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 Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to founding principles and values of the Republic [of Turkey]". Also the party is cited as "the founding party of modern Turkey".
The party was established during the Congress of Sivas as a union of resistance groups against the invasion of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
. The union represented Turkish people
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
as a unified front during the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
. On September 9, 1923, "People's Party" officially declared itself as a political organization and on October 29, 1923, announced the establishment of the Turkish Republic. On November 10, 1924, the People's Party renamed itself to "Republican People's Party" (CHP) as Turkey was moving into a single-party period.
During the singleparty period, CHP became the major political organization of single-party state
Single-party state
A single-party state, one-party system or single-party system is a type of party system government in which a single political party forms the government and no other parties are permitted to run candidates for election...
. However, CHP faced two opposition parties during this period. The first one was the Progressive Republican Party established in 1924 by some famous generals such as Kazım Karabekir
Kazim Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was commander of the Eastern Army in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.-Early years:Karabekir was born in 1882 as the son of an Ottoman General,...
and Ali Fuat Cebesoy
Ali Fuat Cebesoy
Ali Fuat Cebesoy was a Turkish officer, politician and statesman.-Early life:Ali Fuat was born in September 1882 to father Ismail Fazil Pasha and mother Zekiye Hanım...
of the Turkish War of Independence
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
and the second one was the Liberal Republican Party
Liberal Republican Party (Turkey)
The Liberal Republican Party was a political party founded by Ali Fethi Okyar in the early years of the Turkish Republic....
founded by Ali Fethi Okyar
Ali Fethi Okyar
Ali Fethi Okyar was a Turkish diplomat and politician who also served as a military officer and as a diplomat during the last decade of the Ottoman Empire...
in 1930, both of which, however, were banned within a few months of their establishment by the "single-party state". This experience was followed by the National Development Party founded by Nuri Demirağ
Nuri Demirag
Nuri Demirağ was an early Turkish industrialist. He was one of the first millionaires of the Turkish Republic. His first innovation was the production of cigarette paper. Demirağ then invested his capital in the development of the Turkish railway network...
, in 1945.
The current (or modern) structure of the party was established with the transition to multi-party period. After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, with the title Millî Şef ("National Chief"), Gen. İsmet İnönü
Ismet Inönü
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:...
, who was in lead of CHP, has introduced democratic elections to the Turkish society. Consequent reforms enabling further democratization can also be interpreted as a response to the Soviet threat since the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
was about to get permission from the former allies to invade the Eastern part of Turkey and to limit Turkish sovereignty over her straits. Due to widespread dissatisfaction with the CHP, the party lost the first truly-democratic elections (the second general elections after 1946) of the republican era, held in 1950, and he left his seat to his old companion, Celal Bayar
Celal Bayar
Celâl Bayar was a Turkish politician, statesman and the third President of Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years .-Early years:He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of Gemlik, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher...
.
During the interim "multi-party periods" in between the military coups of 1960, 1971, and 1980, CHP is regarded as being social-democratic (member of the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
), state nationalistic and secular/laicist. The party's logo consists of the Six Arrows, which represent the foundational principles of Kemalist Ideology
Kemalist ideology
Kemalist Ideology, "Kemalism" or also known as the "Six Arrows" is the principle that defines the basic characteristics of the Republic of Turkey. It was developed by the Turkish national movement and its leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.-Fundamentals:...
: republicanism
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
, nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, statism
Statism
Statism is a term usually describing a political philosophy, whether of the right or the left, that emphasises the role of the state in politics or supports the use of the state to achieve economic, military or social goals...
, populism
Populism
Populism can be defined as an ideology, political philosophy, or type of discourse. Generally, a common theme compares "the people" against "the elite", and urges social and political system changes. It can also be defined as a rhetorical style employed by members of various political or social...
, laïcité
Laïcité
French secularism, in French, laïcité is a concept denoting the absence of religious involvement in government affairs as well as absence of government involvement in religious affairs. French secularism has a long history but the current regime is based on the 1905 French law on the Separation of...
, and revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
ism.
CHP, along with 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, as Democratic Left Party
Democratic Left Party (Turkey)
The Democratic Left Party is a Turkish political party founded on November 14, 1985, by Rahşan Ecevit.-1985-1999:The DSP, a social democratic oriented party, was registered on November 14, 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of Bülent Ecevit, as he was banned from political life after the 1980 coup...
by the former leader of CHP, Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
. CHP was finally reestablished with its original name on September 9, 1992, with the participation of a majority of its previous members of the pre-1980 period.
Current position
Despite heavy criticism from liberal and libertarian socialist interest groups, CHP still holds a significant position in the Socialist International as well as being an associate member of the Party of European Socialists. CHP urged the Socialist International to accept Republican Turkish Party
Republican Turkish Party
The Republican Turkish Party is a social democratic political party in the Republic of Cyprus. The party was founded in 1970 by Ahmet Mithat Berberoğlu, a lawyer, in opposition to the leadership of Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Denktaş.In the 1980s, the CTP's political position shifted to the left, to a...
of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus , officially the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , is a self-declared state that comprises the northeastern part of the island of Cyprus...
as an observer member.
At the 2007 general election
Turkish general election, 2007
Turkey's 16th general election was held on July 22, 2007 and resulted in a resounding victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party...
CHP ran in alliance with Democratic Left Party
Democratic Left Party (Turkey)
The Democratic Left Party is a Turkish political party founded on November 14, 1985, by Rahşan Ecevit.-1985-1999:The DSP, a social democratic oriented party, was registered on November 14, 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of Bülent Ecevit, as he was banned from political life after the 1980 coup...
. CHP suffered a heavy defeat, getting 7,300,234 votes (20.85% of the total). CHP, YTP, and DSP combined got 21.77% of the votes back in 2002
Turkish general election, 2002
Turkey'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 party could become first only in three provinces in Thrace (Edirne
Edirne Province
Edirne Province is the westernmost province of Turkey, located in Eastern Thrace along the Greek and Bulgarian border. The city's wealth, population and importance increased after it was declared as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire...
, Tekirdağ
Tekirdag Province
The Tekirdağ Province is in Trakya , the northwestern part of Turkey. The capital city is Tekirdağ. It is famous for its meatball called "Tekirdağ köfte" and the Turkish alcoholic drink called Tekirdağ rakısı.-Districts:...
, Kırklareli
Kirklareli Province
Kırklareli Province is a province in northwestern Turkey on the west coast of the Black Sea. The province neighbours Bulgaria to the north along a 180 kilometers long border. It borders the province of Edirne to the west and the province of Tekirdağ to the south and province of Istanbul to the...
) and two provinces on the Aegean
Aegean Sea
The Aegean Sea[p] is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea located between the southern Balkan and Anatolian peninsulas, i.e., between the mainlands of Greece and Turkey. In the north, it is connected to the Marmara Sea and Black Sea by the Dardanelles and Bosporus...
coast (İzmir
Izmir Province
İzmir Province is a province of Turkey in western Anatolia on the Aegean coast, whose capital is the city of İzmir. On the west it is surrounded by the Aegean sea, and it encloses the Gulf of İzmir. Its area is 11,973 km.2, population 3.948.848 . The population was 3,370,866 in 2000...
, Muğla
Mugla Province
Muğla Province is a province of Turkey, at the country's south-western corner, on the Aegean Sea. Its seat is Muğla, about inland, while some of Turkey's largest holiday resorts, such as Bodrum, Ölüdeniz, Marmaris and Fethiye, are on the coast in Muğla....
). With these results, 112 candidates (13 of these MPs are DSP affiliates) were elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It 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...
from the CHP electoral sheet compared to 178 in 2002.
CHP increased its vote share from 20.9% to 23.1% in the 2009 municipal elections. The party gained considerable ground by winning Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
, Giresun
Giresun
Giresun is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon.-Etymology:...
, Zonguldak
Zonguldak
Zonguldak is a city and the capital of Zonguldak Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Its population, according to the 2009 census, was 108,792. It is an important port on the Black Sea because of the coal mining in Zonguldak Province...
, Sinop
Sinop, Turkey
Sinop is a city with a population of 36,734 on İnce Burun , by its Cape Sinop which is situated on the most northern edge of the Turkish side of Black Sea coast, in the ancient region of Paphlagonia, in modern-day northern Turkey, historically known as Sinope...
, Tekirdag
Tekirdag
Tekirdağ , the ancient Bisanthi , is a city in Eastern Thrace, in the European part of Turkey. Tekirdağ is the capital of Tekirdağ Province, felt by the local people to be a quieter and more pleasant town than the industrial centre of Çorlu, which it administers. The city population as of 2009 was...
, Aydin
Aydin
Aydın is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River at a commanding position for the region extending from the uplands of the valley down to the seacoast...
despite losing Trabzon
Trabzon
Trabzon is a city on the Black Sea coast of north-eastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon, located on the historical Silk Road, became a melting pot of religions, languages and culture for centuries and a trade gateway to Iran in the southeast and the Caucasus to the northeast...
municipality. In 20 provinces of Turkey, the party received less than 3% of the votes.
Atatürk period (1923-1938)
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
, approval by more unanimous parliament. The People's Party was officially founded only after the 1923 elections. The 1923 elections were definitely the victory of forthcoming Party, because of the its leaders reputation after the military victory of the War of Independence and it was the liquidation of second group. Thanks to this unanimity of this second parliament, the republic was proclaimed, the Treaty of Lausanne
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
was accepted and Caliphate was abolished.
However, in 1924, after the short-period of a single-party rule, many of Mustafa Kemal's ex-colleagues, for many reasons (their growing loss of power, their opposition to the short-period of a single-party rule's revolutionary activities, etc.), including Rauf Orbay
Rauf Orbay
Hüseyin Rauf Orbay was a Turkish naval officer and statesman, born in Istanbul.As an officer in the Ottoman Navy, he achieved fame for his actions as the captain of the cruiser Hamidiye during the First Balkan War...
, Kâzım Karabekir
Kazim Karabekir
Musa Kâzım Karabekir was a Turkish general and politician. He was commander of the Eastern Army in the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I and served as Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey before his death.-Early years:Karabekir was born in 1882 as the son of an Ottoman General,...
, Ali Fuat Cebesoy
Ali Fuat Cebesoy
Ali Fuat Cebesoy was a Turkish officer, politician and statesman.-Early life:Ali Fuat was born in September 1882 to father Ismail Fazil Pasha and mother Zekiye Hanım...
and many others founded an opposition party called Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası (Progressive Republicans Party). After the foundation of an opposition party, People's Party changed his name to "Republican People's Party". The life of Progressive Republicans Party was short. In 1925 Sheikh Said rebellion
Sheikh Said rebellion
Sheikh Said Rebellion was a rebellion of a Kurdish clergy Sheikh Said and a group of former Kurdish Hamidieh soldiers in 1925.-Background:The Azadî was dominated by officers from the former Hamidiye, a Kurdish tribal militia established...
was sparked in the east of Turkey. The party was shut down because of martial law. Takrir-i Sukun and all other prominent members were sent before the Independence Courts, but none of them was found guilty and all of them were later released. From 1925 until 1946 there was single-party rule, with one interruption; Serbest Fırka
Liberal Republican Party (Turkey)
The Liberal Republican Party was a political party founded by Ali Fethi Okyar in the early years of the Turkish Republic....
(Liberal Party) which was actually founded by Atatürk himself, and its leader was one of his closest friends, Ali Fethi Okyar
Ali Fethi Okyar
Ali Fethi Okyar was a Turkish diplomat and politician who also served as a military officer and as a diplomat during the last decade of the Ottoman Empire...
. This party was closed down by its founders shortly after the İzmir meeting, which was a huge demonstration against the Republican People's Party. In the period of 1925-1930, the Republican People's Party introduced measures transforming Turkey in to a modern State. In the period of 1930-1939, the Party transformed itself and tried to broaden its ideology (for instance, the '6 arrows' were adopted in 1930) after the Liberal Republican Party experience showed CHP leaders how fragile their rule was.
The day after Atatürk's death, İsmet İnönü was elected the second president and assumed the leadership of CHP. During the general nationwide congress of CHP on 26 December 1938, İsmet İnönü was elected as the "everlasting CHP leader". The delegates awarded Atatürk the title "eternal chief", and awarded İnönü the title "national chief".
During 1940s, CHP established Village Institutes
Village Institutes
Village Institutes is a group of co-ed, public, boarding, normal schools that were operational between 1940 and 1954 in Turkey. They were the cornerstones of the rural development project. At the time there weren't any schools in most of the villages...
, which were an enlightenment project developed in order to reduce the huge gap that existed between urban and rural areas. Various scientists, writers, teachers, and doctors graduated from Village Institutes; and supported Turkey's modernization efforts.
İnönü period, (1938–1972)
In the elections of 1946Elections in Turkey
Turkey elects on the national level a legislature. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey has 550 members, elected for a four year term by a system based on proportional representation...
, which were done in a "unique" fashion, whereby the votes were cast out in the open (under the watchful eyes of the state/CHP apparatus) and then they were tallied in secret by the CHP faithfuls and then burned and destroyed immediately, CHP claimed that they won the elections by a 70% majority vote and gained 396 seats and thus self-ranked as the first party. However, to protect their seats before the 1946 elections, CHP had introduced and passed the electoral legislation bringing the winner-take-all system for each province. In this system, if a party got the most votes in a province, it would have captured all MP seats for that province. However, at the elections of 1950
Elections in Turkey
Turkey elects on the national level a legislature. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey has 550 members, elected for a four year term by a system based on proportional representation...
, Republican People's Party was hit by its own electoral system, DP gained 408 seats with 53.3% vote. This was followed by the defeat on 3 September 1950 municipal elections, in which Democratic Party (DP) gained 560 municipalities, and CHP only 40 municipalities.
Real multiparty democracy began with CHP transferring power to DP in a peaceful manner, without a revolution or a coup, in 1950. From that time on, the Republican People's Party formed the official opposition.
On 26 November 1951, during the ninth Congress of CHP, the youth branch and the women's branch of CHP were formed. On 22 June 1953, the establishment of labor unions and vocational chambers was proposed, and the right to strike for workers was added to the party program.
On 2 May 1954, CHP again lost the elections to DP, gaining only 31 seats with 35.4% of the total vote. DP captured 505 seats with 57.6% vote, due to the winner-take-all system. Following this defeat, CHP began intensifying its opposition tactics and increased its share of the votes to 41%, gaining 178 seats, in the 27 October 1957 elections. DP gained 424 seats with 47.9% vote.
In the military coup of 1960, National Unity Committee was formed by upper-class soldiers. The National Unity Committee closed the Democratic Party and started trials to punish Democratic Party leaders for their alleged dictatorial regime. As a result, on 16/17 September 1961, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
, Foreign Minister Fatin Rüştü Zorlu
Fatin Rüstü Zorlu
Fatin Rüştü Zorlu was a Turkish diplomat and politician. He was executed by hanging after the coup d'état in 1960 along with two other politicians.-Biography:...
, and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan
Hasan Polatkan
Hasan Polatkan was a Turkish politician and Minister of Labor and Finance, who was executed by hanging after the coup d'état in 1960 along with two other cabinet members.-Biography:...
were hanged in İmralı island
Imrali
İmralı is a small Turkish island located in the south of the Sea of Marmara, west of Armutlu-Bozburun peninsula within Bursa Province. It served from 1999 until 2009 as a maximum-security prison island for its only inmate, Abdullah Öcalan...
prison. President Celal Bayar
Celal Bayar
Celâl Bayar was a Turkish politician, statesman and the third President of Turkey. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years .-Early years:He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of Gemlik, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher...
was forgiven due to his old age, but sentenced to life imprisonment.
In 1961, Justice Party
Justice Party (Turkey)
The Justice Party was a Turkish political party prominent in the 1960s and 1970s. A descendant of the Democrat Party, the AP was dominated by Süleyman Demirel, who served six times as prime minister, and was in office at the time of the military coup on September 12, 1980...
(AP) was established, claiming to be the successor to the Democratic Party. In the meantime, the National Unity Committee established an interim House of Representatives instead of the TBMM, in order to prepare a new constitution for Turkey. In the new constitution, the Constitutional Court was to be established, to prevent the government from violating the constitution. The 1961 constitution
Constitutional History of Turkey
Over the centuries, Turkey has had many constitutions and can be characterized by the steady establishment of a nation-state, democratization and recognition of international law....
is accepted to be the most liberal and democratic constitution in Turkish history. Also, the winner-take-all electoral system was immediately abolished, and proportional representation system was introduced. The new constitution brought Turkey a bicameral parliament, composed of the Senate of the Republic as the upper chamber, and National Assembly as the lower chamber. The National Unity Committee chairman General Cemal Gürsel was elected as the fourth president of Turkey.
On 15 October 1961, CHP won the elections, gaining 173 seats with the 36.7% of the vote. AP gained 158 seats, with 34.8% of the vote. CHP leader İsmet İnönü
Ismet Inönü
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:...
formed the coalition with the Justice Party (AP) and became prime minister. This was the first coalition government in Turkey's history. İnönü established two coalition governments until the 1965 elections.
Süleyman Demirel
Süleyman Demirel
Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel, better known as Süleyman Demirel , is a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister seven times and was the ninth President of Turkey.-Life:Demirel was born in İslamköy, a town in Isparta Province...
became prime minister in the late 1960s, and because he was the leader of the AP (Justice Party), he continued in the tradition of Adnan Menderes gaining a large amount of support from both the religious voters and democrats.
Ecevit period (1972–1980)
Süleyman Demirel
Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel, better known as Süleyman Demirel , is a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister seven times and was the ninth President of Turkey.-Life:Demirel was born in İslamköy, a town in Isparta Province...
. The secretary general of CHP Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
protested military intervention and resigned from his post. He also criticized İnönü for not protesting the intervention. By his quick and energetic reactions, he gained support from the intellectuals and in 1972 , he succeeded İsmet İnönü as the leader of the party. Following some interim governments CHP won 1973 elections by % 33 and formed a coalition with National Salvation Party
National Salvation Party
The National Salvation Party was an Islamist political party in Turkey founded on 11 October 1972 as the successor of the banned National Order Party . The party was led by Necmettin Erbakan...
(MSP) of Necmettin Erbakan
Necmettin Erbakan
Necmettin Erbakan was a Turkish engineer, academic, politician , who was the Prime Minister of Turkey from 1996 until 1997. He was Turkey's first Islamist Prime Minister...
. Bülent Ecevit began to take on a distinct left wing role in politics and, although remaining staunchly nationalist, tried to implement socialism into the ideology of CHP. The support of party also increased after Turkish intervention to Cyprus following a coup which had been staged by the Cypriot National Guard led by Nikos Sampson
Nikos Sampson
Nikos Sampson was the de facto president of Cyprus who succeeded Archbishop Makarios, President of Cyprus, in 1974. Sampson was a journalist and a member of EOKA, which rose against the British colonial administration, seeking Enosis of the island of Cyprus with Greece...
.
CHP and MSP had however very diverged ideologies, especially on secularity and in 1975 a new coalition government led by Süleyman Demirel was formed by four parties. Nevertheless CHP was still the most popular party. CHP won 1977 elections by % 41 vote, which is a record in CHP history. But CHP couldn't gain the majority of seats and from 1977 to 1979, the CHP was the main party of two brief coalition governments. But in 1980, the AP returned with Demirel. The political switching between the CHP and the AP came to an end when the military performed a coup and banned all political parties.
Recovery period, 1980–1992
After the 1980 military coup, the name of "Republican People's Party" and the abbreviation CHP was banned from use by the military regime. Until 1998, Turkey was ruled by the center right Motherland PartyMotherland Party (Turkey)
The Motherland Party, was a political party in Turkey. It was founded in 1983 by Turgut Özal. It was merged to Democratic Party in October 2009...
(ANAP) and the True Path Party
True Path Party
The Democratic Party , abbreviated to DP, is a centre-right, conservative Turkish political party, established by Suleyman Demirel in 1983 as the Right Path Party...
(DYP), unofficial successors of the Democrat Party.
CHP followers also tried to establish parties. But they were not allowed to use the name CHP and were not allowed to elect the well known names of pre 1980 politicians to party posts. So they had to introduce new politicians.
The three parties of CHP followers were ; Halkçı Parti (Populist Party, HP) of Necdet Calp, Social Democracy Party
SODEP
SODEP is the abbreviation of Social Democracy Party of Turkey which was one of the two main parties of Turkey in early 1980s but later on merged with another party.- Background :...
of Erdal İnönü
Erdal Inönü
Erdal İnönü was a Turkish physicist and politician. He was the son of Turkey's second president İsmet İnönü...
and Demokratik Sol Parti
Democratic Left Party (Turkey)
The Democratic Left Party is a Turkish political party founded on November 14, 1985, by Rahşan Ecevit.-1985-1999:The DSP, a social democratic oriented party, was registered on November 14, 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of Bülent Ecevit, as he was banned from political life after the 1980 coup...
(Democratic Left Party, DSP) of Rahşan Ecevit
Rahsan Ecevit
Rahşan Ecevit is the spouse of the late Turkish politician and former prime minister Bülent Ecevit.She was born in Bursa, Turkey to a family from Şebinkarahisar, a town in the northeastern Giresun Province. Her father was Namık Zeki Aral, and her mother Zahide Aral. Their family came from...
. But even these new names were chosen to remind people of CHP. Necdet Calp was İsmet İnönü’s secretary when İnönü was prime minister. Erdal İnönü (internationally known pyhsicist ) was İsmet İnönü’s son and Rahşan Ecevit was Bülent Ecevit’s wife.
The ban on pre 1980 politicians was lifted in 1987 and on pre 1980 parties was lifted in 1992. Both of these normalization steps were largely due to Erdal İnönü’s efforts. He also tried to unify the three parties; but he was only partially successful. Although SODEP and HP were united in 1985 to form Sosyal Demokrat Halkçı Parti
Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey)
The Social Democratic Populist Party was the name of a former Turkish left social-democratic party, which resulted from the fusion, in 1985, of the Social Democracy Party of Erdal İnönü and the People's Party of Aydın Güven Gürkan, both founded in 1983 with the return to democracy after the...
(Social Democratic Populist Party, SHP), DSP was not persuaded.
Baykal period (1992–2010)
CHP was reestablished after the 1987 referendum and a legislation in 1993 which allowed the reestablishment of older parties.In 1991, since Turkey's election system had two large election thresholds (10% nationwide and 15% local thresholds) and since center-left is divided into two parties (SHP and DSP), social democrats and democratic left groups had little power in the parliament. Between 1991 and 1995, Turkey was ruled by the coalition of center-right DYP and center-left SHP (Social Democratic Populist Party) (later SHP joined CHP). The political coalitions which ruled Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
from the center right ANAP and DYP were making the country increasingly unstable. The Islamists returned with a new party the Refah (which was also later banned) while MHP the far right nationalist party had begun to take advantage of the disillusionment felt by former supporters of the Refah Party and the ever bickering ANAP and DYP.
In 1995, the Islamic Welfare Party
Welfare Party
The Welfare Party was an Islamist political party in Turkey. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, Milli Nizam Partisi and Milli Selamet Partisi , which were banned from politics...
(Refah Partisi) step into Parliament, and the CHP seemed to have been deserted by the Turkish people, having only 10% nationwide support and only 49 deputies of 550. It now seemed as if the CHP had been replaced as the main left-wing party.
But the Welfare Party was banned in 1998, and during the 1990s the Democratic Left Party
Democratic Left Party (Turkey)
The Democratic Left Party is a Turkish political party founded on November 14, 1985, by Rahşan Ecevit.-1985-1999:The DSP, a social democratic oriented party, was registered on November 14, 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of Bülent Ecevit, as he was banned from political life after the 1980 coup...
(DSP), led by former CHP leader Bülent Ecevit, gained popular support. (Democratic Left Party is established by Ecevit family in 1985.) In 1998, after the resignation of RP-DYP coalition following the "February 28" post-modern and soft military coup, center-right ANAP formed a coalition government with center-left DSP and the small center-right party DTP (Democratic Turkey Party), along with the support of CHP.
However, due to big scandals, corruption and some illegal actions of this coalition, CHP withdrew its support from the coalition and helped bring down the government with a "no confidence" vote. Just before the elections of 1999, DSP formed an interim minority government with the support of DYP and ANAP; and the PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...
was captured in Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
under the Ecevit rule.
Therefore in the elections of 1999, CHP failed to pass the 10% threshold (8.7% vote), winning no seats in Parliament. Baykal resigned in 1999, Altan Öymen
Altan Öymen
Altan Öymen is a Turkish journalist, author and former politician.-Biography:He graduated from the School of Political Science of Ankara University. He began his journalist career already in 1950 at age of 18, and worked as reporter, columnist and editor-in-chief long time for the major newspapers...
became the leader. But 1 year later, Baykal became the leader of the party again.
About a month after the general elections of 1999, a coalition government between DSP-MHP and ANAP was formed under the leadership of DSP. This government passed many important laws, including banking reform, unemployment insurance, law to ensure the autonomy of the Central Bank
Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey
The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey is the central bank of Turkey and is founded as a joint stock company with the exclusive right to issue banknotes in Turkey. The preparations to establish a central bank began in 1926, but organization was established on 3 October 1931 and opened...
, qualified industrial zones, tender law, employment incentive law, to name a few. The government also changed 34 articles of the Constitution to widen fundamental rights and freedoms, and did this with the approval of all the parties in Parliament. Turkey became a candidate country to the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(without any political preconditions and with equal treatment as all other candidate countries). Three major EU harmization packages were passed during this government, including the most comprehensive package of August 3, 2002, which included the removal of the death penalty and many changes in fundamental rights and freedoms. An economic crisis which resulted from long overdue problems from previous governments caused a drop in the currency in February 2001. But 2 months later, the government passed a series of very comprehensive economic reforms which enabled the high growth of 2002-2007.
Because DSP was staunchly opposed to the invasion of Iraq by the US, a campaign to divide the DSP and force a change of government in Turkey was started. When its coalition partner MHP called for early elections in the summer of 2002, ıt was forced to enter early elections, before the results of the wide economic reforms could be felt. As a result, none of the coalition parties were able to pass the 10% national threshold.
In the 2002 Parliamentary elections, the CHP won 178 seats in Parliament, and only it and the AK Party (Justice and Development Party) entered Parliament. The CHP became the main opposition party again and Turkey's second largest party. It had begun the long road to recovery.
It must be understood however, that this had very little to do with voters supporting CHP. Many were former DSP supporters who were angry at the economic crisis that many blamed on the Ecevit government. Also many DSP and ANAP supporters left these parties for AK Party as did many MHP and Fazilet (now Saadet party) members.
Many on the left are still very critical of the leadership of CHP especially Deniz Baykal
Deniz Baykal
Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:...
, who they complain is stifling the party of young blood thus turning away the young who turn either to apathy or even to vote for AK Party. While AK Party boast of a young leadership who have lived through many of the difficulties of many in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
CHP are seen as an 'old guard' that do not represent modern Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. The leftists also are very critical of the party's continuous opposition to the removal of Article 301
Article 301 (Turkish penal code)
Article 301 is a controversial article of the Turkish Penal Code making it illegal to insult Turkey, the Turkish ethnicity, or Turkish government institutions...
of Turkish penal code; which caused people to be prosecuted for "insulting Turkishness" including Nobel Winner author Orhan Pamuk
Orhan Pamuk
Ferit Orhan Pamuk , generally known simply as Orhan Pamuk, is a Turkish novelist. He is also the Robert Yik-Fong Tam Professor in the Humanities at Columbia University, where he teaches comparative literature and writing....
, Elif Şafak
Elif Safak
Elif Şafak , is a Turkish writer who writes in both Turkish and English. Her books have been translated into more than thirty languages.-Fiction:...
, and the conviction of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
, its attitude towards the minorities in Turkey, as well as its Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
policy.
Despite this recovery, since the dramatic General Election of 2002, the CHP has been racked by internal power struggles, and has been outclassed by the AK Party government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
. In the local elections of 2004, its overall share of the vote held, largely through mopping up anti-Erdoğan votes among former supporters of smaller left-wing and secular right-wing parties, but was badly beaten by the AK Party across the country, losing former strongholds such as Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
.
Much of the blame was put on the leader of CHP Deniz Baykal. After the local elections CHP was racked by defections of several key members of the party all claiming a lack of democratic structure within the party and the increasingly authoritarian way in which Deniz Baykal runs the party. Even those who support Deniz Baykal would admit that the party would be much more successful with a different leader.
In October 2004, New Turkey Party
New Turkey Party
New Turkey Party was a political party in Turkey. It was founded in 2002 following a leadership crisis in the Democratic Left Party that was the major partner in a three party coalition government....
(Yeni Türkiye Partisi, YTP) merged into the CHP. Lately Baykal is bidding for fusing the DSP and CHP together under one roof, namely CHP, under his leadership.
In order to present a strong alternative to the AK Party in the 2007 national elections, the DSP showed a sacrifice and entered the elections together with the CHP. The CHP and DSP alliance received %20.9 of the votes and entered the Parliament with 112 Members of Parliament.
During the 2009 local elections, the party tried to attract the conservative and devout Muslims to the party by allowing women who wear the chador
Chador
A chādor or chādar is an outer garment or open cloak worn by many Iranian women and female teenagers in public spaces. Wearing this garment is one possible way in which a Muslim woman can follow the Islamic dress code known as ḥijāb. A chador is a full-body-length semicircle of fabric that is...
to become party members including promises to introduce Koran courses if requested in every district. However, the allowing of women wearing hijab into the party was received with a severe blow when a normally non-headscarved member of CHP (Kıymet Özgür) committed a provocation by wearing a black hijab and trying to get into an election bus in Istanbul. The incident raised questions about CHP's initiatives in favor of religious freedoms. The new initiatives introduced were surprising inside and outside the party, including military leaders, which the party itself is a major defender of Kemalist principles.
On May 10, 2010, Deniz Baykal announced his resignation as leader of the Republican People's Party after a clandestinely made video tape of him, sitting on a bed where a woman is also eminent, who is identified as Nesrin Baytok, his former private secretary and a member of parliament, was leaked to the media.
Although Baykal has stepped down from the chair of his party leadership, he is still active in politics for CHP as a parliament member, and will be running for a seat in parliament from his hometown, Antalya
Antalya
Antalya is a city on the Mediterranean coast of southwestern Turkey. With a population 1,001,318 as of 2010. It is the eighth most populous city in Turkey and country's biggest international sea resort.- History :...
in 2011 elections as well.
Kılıçdaroğlu period, 2010–present
On May 22, 2010, the party convention of the Republican People's Party elected Kemal KılıçdaroğluKemal Kiliçdaroglu
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is a Turkish social democrat politician. He is currently leader of the Republican People's Party and Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey. He has been the Member of Parliament for İstanbul since 2002....
to be the new party leader. Kılıçdaroğlu set about immediately to reform the party and many critics of the day commented positively how the Kılıçdaroğlu period would see the People's Republican Party move more to the left as in the time of Bülent Ecevit, in contrast to the Baykal period which had moved CHP more closer to centre politics to such an extent that left-wing intellectuals had started to claim how the CHP was becoming a right-wing party. Kılıçdaroğlu has seen an immense rise in popularity and support throughout the countries and for the first time in twenty years, the party has become directly active in the eastern parts of the Republic. In late 2010, the party held a Great Election where the Party Leader's cabinet was reformed. It marked the end of the 'Baykal - Onder Sav' era completely where all opposition to the changing policy of the CHP was swiftly removed.
Historical leaders
- Mustafa Kemal AtatürkMustafa Kemal AtatürkMustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
(9 September 1923–10 November 1938) (Founder and "Eternal Chief") - İsmet İnönüIsmet InönüMustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:...
(26 December 1938–8 May 1972) - Bülent EcevitBülent EcevitMustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
(14 May 1972–30 October 1980) - Deniz BaykalDeniz BaykalDeniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:...
(9 September 1992–18 February 1995) (1st time) - Hikmet ÇetinHikmet ÇetinHikmet Çetin is a Turkish politician former minister of foreign affairs and was leader of the Republican People's Party for a short time. He served also as the Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly....
(18 February–9 September 1995) - Deniz BaykalDeniz BaykalDeniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:...
(9 September 1995–23 May 1999) (2nd time) - Altan ÖymenAltan ÖymenAltan Öymen is a Turkish journalist, author and former politician.-Biography:He graduated from the School of Political Science of Ankara University. He began his journalist career already in 1950 at age of 18, and worked as reporter, columnist and editor-in-chief long time for the major newspapers...
(23 May 1999–30 September 2000) - Deniz BaykalDeniz BaykalDeniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:...
(30 September 2000–10 May 2010) (3rd time) - Kemal KılıçdaroğluKemal KiliçdarogluKemal Kılıçdaroğlu is a Turkish social democrat politician. He is currently leader of the Republican People's Party and Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey. He has been the Member of Parliament for İstanbul since 2002....
(22 May 2010–Present)
General Elections
| Election date | Party leader | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes | Number of deputies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1946 Turkish general election, 1946 General elections were held in Turkey on 21 July 1946, the first multi-party elections in the country's history. The result was a victory for the Republican People's Party, which won 395 of the 465 seats.-Results:... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
Unknown | 85% | 397 |
| 1950 Turkish general election, 1950 General elections were held in Turkey on 14 May 1950. The result was a victory for the Democratic Party, which won 408 of the 487 seats.-Results:... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
3,176,561 | 39.45% | 69 |
| 1954 Turkish general election, 1954 General elections were held in Turkey on 2 May 1954. The result was a victory for the Democratic Party, which won 490 of the 535 seats. Voter turnout was 88.6%.-Results:... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
3,161,696 | 35.36% | 31 |
| 1957 Turkish general election, 1957 General elections were held in Turkey on 27 October 1957. The result was a victory for the Democratic Party, which won 419 of the 602 seats.-Results:... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
3,753,136 | 41.09% | 178 |
| 1961 Turkish general election, 1961 General elections were held in Turkey on 15 October 1961. The result was a victory for the Republican People's Party, which won 173 of the 450 seats. Voter turnout was 81.4%.-Results:... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
3,724,752 | 36.74% | 173 |
| 1965 Turkish general election, 1965 General elections were held in Turkey on 10 October 1965. The result was a victory for the Justice Party, which won 240 of the 450 seats. Voter turnout was 71.3%.-Results:... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
2,675,785 | 28.75% | 134 |
| 1969 Turkish general election, 1969 General elections were held in Turkey on 12 October 1969. The result was a victory for the Justice Party, which won 256 of the 450 seats. Voter turnout was 64.3%.-Results:... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
2,487,163 | 27.37% | 143 |
| 1973 Turkish general election, 1973 General elections were held in Turkey on 14 October 1973. The result was a victory for the Republican People's Party , who won 185 of the 450 seats. Voter turnout was 66.8%.... |
Bülent Ecevit Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :... |
3,570,583 | 33.3% | 185 |
| 1977 Turkish general election, 1977 General elections were held in Turkey on 5 June 1977. Elections took place in the middle of a political race between the right wing party AP and the left wing party CHP. With the charismatic leadership of Bülent Ecevit, CHP managed to beat one of the symbol figures of the conservative politics of... |
Bülent Ecevit Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :... |
6,136,171 | 41.38% | 213 |
| 1995 Turkish general election, 1995 Turkey's 13th general election was held on Sunday December 24, 1995, triggered after the newly reformed Republican People's Party withdrew from a coalition with the True Path Party... |
Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:... |
3,011,076 | 10,71% | 49 |
| 1999 Turkish general election, 1999 Turkey's 14th general election was held on Sunday April 18, 1999 and was the first election in Turkish history to combine local, council and parliamentary elections on the same day. Bülent Ecevit's Democratic Left Party , soaring in popularity after the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan,... |
Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:... |
2,716,096 | 9,91% | 0 |
| 2002 Turkish general election, 2002 Turkey'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... |
Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:... |
6,114,843 | 19,39% | 177 |
| 2007 Turkish general election, 2007 Turkey's 16th general election was held on July 22, 2007 and resulted in a resounding victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party... |
Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:... |
7,300,234 | 20,88% | 112 |
| 2011 Turkish general election, 2011 Turkey's 17th general election was held on 12 June 2011 to elect 550 new members of Grand National Assembly. They were Turkey's first non-early elections in 34 years.-Background:... |
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Kemal Kiliçdaroglu Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is a Turkish social democrat politician. He is currently leader of the Republican People's Party and Leader of the Main Opposition in Turkey. He has been the Member of Parliament for İstanbul since 2002.... |
11,155,972 | 25,98% | 135 |
Senate Elections
| Election date | Party leader | Number of votes received | Percentage of votes | Number of senators |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 Turkish senate elections, 1961 Turkey held senate elections on 15 October 1961. In this election 150 members of the senate were elected by the majority system. The result was surprising. Because the second party could gain two times as much seats as the leading party.... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
3,734,285 | 36,1% | 36 |
| 1964 Turkish senate elections, 1964 Turkey held senate elections on 7 June 1964. In this election 51 members of the senate were elected.... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
1,125,783 | 40,8% | 19 |
| 1966 Turkish senate elections, 1966 Turkey held senate elections on 5 June 1966 . In this election 52 members of the senate were elected.... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
877,066 | 29,6% | 13 |
| 1968 Turkish senate elections, 1968 Turkey held senate elections on 2 June 1968. In this election 53 members of the senate were elected.... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
899,444 | 27,1% | 13 |
| 1973 Turkish senate elections, 1973 Turkey held senate elections on 14 October 1973. In this election 52 members of the senate were elected. References... |
Bülent Ecevit Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :... |
1,412,051 | 33,6% | 25 |
| 1975 Turkish senate elections, 1975 Turkey held senate elections on 12 October 1975. In this election 54 members of the senate were elected.References... |
Bülent Ecevit Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :... |
2,281,470 | 43,4% | 25 |
| 1977 Turkish senate elections, 1977 Turkey held senate elections on 7 June 1977. In this election 50 members of the senate were elected.... |
Bülent Ecevit Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :... |
2,037,875 | 42,4% | 28 |
| 1979 Turkish senate elections, 1979 Turkey held senate elections on 14 October 1979. In this election 50 members of the senate were elected.... |
Bülent Ecevit Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :... |
1,378,224 | 29,1% | 12 |
Local Elections
| Election date | Party leader | Provincial council votes | Percentage of votes | Number of municipalities |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 Turkish local elections, 1963 Turkey held local elections on 17 November 1963. In the elections, both the mayors and the local parliaments were elected. The figures presented below are the results of the local parliament elections.... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
3,458,972 | 36,22% | No data |
| 1968 Turkish local elections, 1968 Turkey held local elections on 2 June 1968. In the elections, both the mayors and the local parliaments were elected. The figures presented below are the results of the local parliament elections.... |
İsmet İnönü Ismet Inönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:... |
2,542,644 | 27,90% | No data |
| 1973 Turkish local elections, 1973 Turkey held local elections on 9 December 1973. In the elections, both the mayors and the local parliaments were elected. The figures presented below are the results of the local parliament elections.... |
Bülent Ecevit Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :... |
3,708,687 | 37,09% | No data |
| 1977 Turkish local elections, 1977 Turkey held local elections on 11 December 1977. In the elections, both the mayors and the local parliaments were elected. The figures presented below are the results of the local parliament elections.... |
Bülent Ecevit Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :... |
5,161,426 | 41,73% | No data |
| 1994 Turkish local elections, 1994 Turkey held local elections on 27 March 1994.-Mayor of metropolitan municipality:-External links:*... |
Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:... |
1,297,371 | 4,61% | 64 |
| 1999 Turkish local elections, 1999 -Results:-Mayor of metropolitan municipality:-External links:*... |
Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:... |
3,487,483 | 11,08% | 373 |
| 2004 Turkish local elections, 2004 On March 28, 2004, Turks voted in nationwide municipal elections for the mayors of more than 3,000 cities and towns, as well as administrative council members for all eighty-one Turkish provinces.... |
Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:... |
5,848,180 | 18,38% | 392 |
| 2009 Turkish local elections, 2009 Turkey held local elections on 29 March 2009. The overal winner was the ruling party Justice and Development Party, although the party saw a decline in its vote relative to the 2007 general election... |
Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal Deniz Baykal is a Turkish politician. He was a long-time leader of the Republican People's Party .-Biography:... |
9,233,662 | 23,11% | 499 |