Turkish presidential election, 2000
Encyclopedia
The 2000 Turkish presidential election consisted of a first round election on 27 April 2000 followed by a second round vote on 1 May and a third on 5 May. It occurred at the end of 9th president Süleyman Demirel
's seven-year term in office. There was a small effort to convert Turkey's presidential system
into two terms of five years each, which would have given Demirel an additional three years, but this proposal never found widespread support.
In the months leading to the vote, each of the five largest parliamentary parties informally endorsed their own candidates. However, with their no party with a defining majority, a neutral compromise candidate was sought and eventually found in the form of Ahmet Necdet Sezer
, then chief justice at Turkey's Constitutional Court. Sezer was endorsed by the leaders of the governing Democratic Left
, Nationalist Action and Motherland
parties, as well as the leaders of the opposition Virtue
and True Path
parties.
A number of MPs broke from party lines to nominate themselves. Among them was parliament speaker and former prime minister Yıldırım Akbulut
, who was unable to win popular support and withdrew after the second round.
. A candidate requires a two-thirds majority - or 367 votes - to be elected in the first two rounds. If there is no clear winner before the third round, the winning threshold is dropped to a simple majority
, or 276 votes. If there is still no winner, the two candidates with the most votes from the third round progress to a runoff election, where the simply majority rule still applies. In the event of no clear winner among the two, the Turkish constitution states that a snap general election must be called to overcome the parliamentary deadlock.
election results
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Candidates
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Position or political party
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|1st round votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|2nd round votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|3rd round votes
|-
|align=left|Ahmet Necdet Sezer
|align=left|Chief Justice, Constitutional Court. Cross-party candidate.
|281
|314
|330
|-
|align=left|Nevzat Yalçıntaş
|align=left|Virtue Party
(Fazilet Partisi)
|61
|66
|113
|-
|align=left|Sadi Somuncuoğlu
|align=left|Nationalist Movement Party
(Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi)
|58
|32
|43
|-
|align=left|Rasim Zaimoğlu
|align=left|True Path Party
(Doğru Yol Partisi)
|7
|3
|24
|-
|align=left|Mehmet Mail Büyükerman
|align=left|Democratic Left Party
(Demokratik Sol Parti)
|3
|2
|7
|-
|align=left|Yıldırım Akbulut
|align=left|Parliament speaker, Motherland Party (Turkey)
(Anavatan Partisi)
|56
|88
| colspan=1 rowspan=2|
|-
|align=left|Doğan Güreş
|align=left|True Path Party
(Doğru Yol Partisi)
|35
|22
|-
|align=left|Ahmet İyimaya
|align=left|True Path Party
(Doğru Yol Partisi)
|10
| colspan=2 rowspan=3|
|-
|align=left|Agâh Oktay Güner
|align=left|Motherland Party (Turkey)
(Anavatan Partisi)
|5
|-
|align=left|Oğuz Aygün
|align=left|Democratic Left Party
(Demokratik Sol Parti)
|4
|-
| colspan=2 rowspan=1|Spoiled votes
|8
|2
|8
|-
| colspan=2 rowspan=1|Blank votes
|2
|3
|8
|-
| align=right colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total MP turnout
|width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|530
|width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|532
|width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|533
|-
|colspan=6 align=left|Source: Turkish Grand National Assembly online archives http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/
|}
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...
's seven-year term in office. There was a small effort to convert Turkey's presidential system
President of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
into two terms of five years each, which would have given Demirel an additional three years, but this proposal never found widespread support.
In the months leading to the vote, each of the five largest parliamentary parties informally endorsed their own candidates. However, with their no party with a defining majority, a neutral compromise candidate was sought and eventually found in the form of Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Ahmet Necdet Sezer
- External links :* , Presidency of the Republic of Turkey...
, then chief justice at Turkey's Constitutional Court. Sezer was endorsed by the leaders of the governing Democratic Left
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...
, Nationalist Action and Motherland
Motherland 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...
parties, as well as the leaders of the opposition Virtue
Virtue Party
Virtue Party was an Islamist political party established in December 1998 in Turkey. It was found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court and then banned in June 2001, for violating the secularist articles of the Constitution...
and True Path
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...
parties.
A number of MPs broke from party lines to nominate themselves. Among them was parliament speaker and former prime minister Yıldırım Akbulut
Yildirim Akbulut
Yıldırım Akbulut is a Turkish politician, who was a leader of the Anavatan Partisi , a former Prime Minister of Turkey and twice the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.-Biography:...
, who was unable to win popular support and withdrew after the second round.
Procedure
The presidential vote is held in parliament by secret ballotSecret ballot
The secret ballot is a voting method in which a voter's choices in an election or a referendum are anonymous. The key aim is to ensure the voter records a sincere choice by forestalling attempts to influence the voter by intimidation or bribery. The system is one means of achieving the goal of...
. A candidate requires a two-thirds majority - or 367 votes - to be elected in the first two rounds. If there is no clear winner before the third round, the winning threshold is dropped to a simple majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
, or 276 votes. If there is still no winner, the two candidates with the most votes from the third round progress to a runoff election, where the simply majority rule still applies. In the event of no clear winner among the two, the Turkish constitution states that a snap general election must be called to overcome the parliamentary deadlock.
Results
Summary of the April - May 2000 Turkish presidentialPresident of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
election results
|-
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Candidates
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=left valign=top|Position or political party
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|1st round votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|2nd round votes
!style="background-color:#E9E9E9" align=right|3rd round votes
|-
|align=left|Ahmet Necdet Sezer
Ahmet Necdet Sezer
- External links :* , Presidency of the Republic of Turkey...
|align=left|Chief Justice, Constitutional Court. Cross-party candidate.
|281
|314
|330
|-
|align=left|Nevzat Yalçıntaş
|align=left|Virtue Party
Virtue Party
Virtue Party was an Islamist political party established in December 1998 in Turkey. It was found unconstitutional by the Constitutional Court and then banned in June 2001, for violating the secularist articles of the Constitution...
(Fazilet Partisi)
|61
|66
|113
|-
|align=left|Sadi Somuncuoğlu
|align=left|Nationalist Movement Party
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...
(Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi)
|58
|32
|43
|-
|align=left|Rasim Zaimoğlu
|align=left|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...
(Doğru Yol Partisi)
|7
|3
|24
|-
|align=left|Mehmet Mail Büyükerman
|align=left|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...
(Demokratik Sol Parti)
|3
|2
|7
|-
|align=left|Yıldırım Akbulut
Yildirim Akbulut
Yıldırım Akbulut is a Turkish politician, who was a leader of the Anavatan Partisi , a former Prime Minister of Turkey and twice the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.-Biography:...
|align=left|Parliament speaker, Motherland Party (Turkey)
Motherland 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...
(Anavatan Partisi)
|56
|88
| colspan=1 rowspan=2|
|-
|align=left|Doğan Güreş
|align=left|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...
(Doğru Yol Partisi)
|35
|22
|-
|align=left|Ahmet İyimaya
|align=left|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...
(Doğru Yol Partisi)
|10
| colspan=2 rowspan=3|
|-
|align=left|Agâh Oktay Güner
|align=left|Motherland Party (Turkey)
Motherland 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...
(Anavatan Partisi)
|5
|-
|align=left|Oğuz Aygün
|align=left|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...
(Demokratik Sol Parti)
|4
|-
| colspan=2 rowspan=1|Spoiled votes
|8
|2
|8
|-
| colspan=2 rowspan=1|Blank votes
|2
|3
|8
|-
| align=right colspan=2 style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|Total MP turnout
|width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|530
|width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|532
|width="75" align="right" style="background-color:#E9E9E9"|533
|-
|colspan=6 align=left|Source: Turkish Grand National Assembly online archives http://www.tbmm.gov.tr/
|}
Withdrawn nominations
- Vecdi Gönül, Virtue Party. Fielded his candidacy early on in the election period, withdrew when a cross-party consensus was found in Sezer. Still won five votes in the first ballot.
- Gönul Saray Alphan and Turhan İmamoğlu, both Democratic Left Party. Both withdrew their candidacies before the first ballot.