Misplaced Pages

#79920

97-676: The total area of the center is approximately 4 hectares. There are 65 office premises, working rooms and living rooms on the territory. On November 11, 2020, the Ministers of Defence of Russia and Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of a joint monitoring center in Azerbaijan. On November 16, the Turkish Government submitted a proposal to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on

194-485: A Constitutional Court . The 1961 Constitution regulated fundamental rights and freedom, including economic and social rights, over a wide spectrum and adopted the principles of a democratic social state and the rule of law. The 1961 Constitution underwent many comprehensive changes after the military memorandum of 12 March 1971, but continued to be in force until the military coup of 1980. The country underwent another military coup on 12 September 1980 . The Constitution

291-559: A presidential system of government and significantly reduced the number of elected local government positions in 2013. Critics have accused the AK Party of having a 'hidden agenda' despite their public endorsement of secularism and the party maintains informal relations and support for the Muslim Brotherhood . Both the party's domestic and foreign policy has been perceived to be Pan-Islamist or Neo-Ottoman , advocating

388-557: A constitutional reform package. The reform package was first vetoed by President Sezer . Then he applied to the Turkish constitutional court about the reform package, because the president is unable to veto amendments for the second time. The court did not find any problems in the package and 69% of the voters supported the constitutional changes. The reforms consisted of: The 2009 Turkish local elections took place in March 2009, during

485-872: A hundred AK Party MPs joined those of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in parliament to prevent the government from allowing the United States to launch a Northern offensive in Iraq from Turkish territory. Later, Erdoğan's ban was lifted with the help of the CHP and Erdoğan became prime minister by being elected to the parliament after a by-election in Siirt . The AK Party has undertaken structural reforms, and during its rule Turkey has seen rapid growth and an end to its three decade long period of high inflation rates. Inflation had fallen to 8.8% by 2004. Influential business publications such as The Economist consider

582-477: A large number of people joined a political party for the first time, such as Ali Babacan , Nimet Baş , Egemen Bağış and Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu . Controversies over whether the party remains committed to secular principles enshrined in the Turkish constitution have dominated Turkish politics since 2002. Turkey's constitution established the country as a secular state and prohibits any political parties that promote Islamism or shariah law . Since coming to power,

679-624: A parliamentary group. Currently there are six parliamentary groups at the GNAT: AK Party , which has the highest number of seats, CHP , MHP , Good Party , DEM , and Felicity . These committees are one of auditing tools of the Parliament. The research can begin upon the demand of the Government, political party groups or min 20 MPs. The duty is assigned to a committee whose number of members, duration of work and location of work

776-497: A repressive climate for LGBT rights in Turkey under the AK Party. In 2002 before his election, Erdoğan said that "homosexuals must be legally protected within the framework of their rights and freedoms." In 2011, AK Party Minister for Families and Social Policy Fatma Şahin said the AK Party government would be willing to work with LGBT rights groups to advance laws protecting Turkey's gay community. However, commentators have argued

873-404: A research motion in the parliament of Turkey on having a parliamentary debate regarding LGBT rights. During the latter debate, AK Party MP Türkan Dağoğlu stated "Homosexuality is an abnormality. Same-sex marriages may not be allowed. It would cause social deterioration"; this prompted criticism from some opposition politicians. In 2017, Erdogan stated that the principle of LGBT rights was "against

970-442: A revival of Ottoman culture often at the expense of secular republican principles, while increasing regional presence in former Ottoman territories . The AK Party has been criticized for supporting a wide-scale purge of thousands of academics after the failed coup attempt in 2016. Primary, lower secondary and secondary school students were forced to spend the first day of school after the failed coup d'état watching videos about

1067-427: A series of oppositions and criticism from the opposition parties and their supporters, fearing the measure would give more unchecked power to the current President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , who has drawn fierce criticisms both from home and abroad for his active role in the election, abandoning the traditional presidential role of maintaining a more neutral and impartial position in elections by his predecessors in

SECTION 10

#1732776054080

1164-493: A sweeping victory in the 2002 elections , which saw every party previously represented in the Grand National Assembly ejected from the chamber. In the process, it won a two-thirds majority of seats, becoming the first Turkish party in 11 years to win an outright majority. Erdoğan, as the leader of the biggest party in parliament, would have been normally given the task to form a cabinet. However, according to

1261-405: A watered down, not a closely integrated EU. The AK Party withdrew from AECR in 2018. From 2002 to 2011 the party passed series of reforms to increase accessibility to healthcare and housing, distribute food subsidies, increased funding for students, improved infrastructure in poorer districts, and improved rights for religious and ethnic minorities. AK Party is also widely accredited for overcoming

1358-441: Is a political party in Turkey self-describing as conservative-democratic . It has been the ruling party of Turkey since 2002. Third-party sources often refer to the party as national conservative , social conservative , right-wing populist and as espousing neo-Ottomanism . The party is generally regarded as being right-wing on the political spectrum , although some sources have described it as far-right since 2011. It

1455-549: Is also accredited for bringing the Turkish military under civilian rule, a paradigm shift for a country that had experienced constant military meddling for almost a century. More recently, nationwide protests broke out against the alleged authoritarianism of the AK Party in 2013, with the party's perceived heavy-handed response receiving western condemnation and stalling the party's once championed EU accession negotiations. In addition to its alleged attempts to promote Islamism,

1552-413: Is being used. These characterizations do not reflect the truth, and they sadden us." Çelik added, "The AK Party is a conservative democratic party. The AK Party's conservatism is limited to moral and social issues." Also in a separate speech made in 2005, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stated, "We are not an Islamic party, and we also refuse labels such as Muslim-democrat." Erdogan went on to say that

1649-613: Is determined by the proposal of the Parliamentary Speaker and the approval of the General Assembly. These committees are established if any investigation demand re the president, vice president, and ministers occur and approved by the General Assembly through hidden voting. MPs can attend more than one committee if not a member of Petitions Committee or Planning and Budgeting Committee. Members of those committees can not participate in any other committees. On

1746-476: Is one of the two major parties of contemporary Turkey along with the Republican People's Party (CHP). Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been chairman of the AK Party since the 2017 Party Congress . The AK Party is the largest party in the Grand National Assembly , the Turkish national legislature, with 267 out of 600 seats, having won 35.6% of votes in the 2023 Turkish parliamentary election . It forms

1843-617: Is shown below. The current Parliament Building is the third to house the nation's parliament. The building which first housed the Parliament was converted from the Ankara headquarters of the Committee of Union and Progress . Designed by architect Hasip Bey, it was used until 1924 and is now used as the locale of the Museum of the War of Independence , the second building which housed the Parliament

1940-567: The 2001 Turkish economic crisis by following International Monetary Fund guidelines, as well as successfully weathering the 2007–2008 financial crisis . From 2002 to 2011, the Turkish economy grew on average by 7.5 percent annually, thanks to lower inflation and interest rates. The government under AK Party also backed extensive privatization programs. In fact, 88% of the privatizations in Turkey were carried out under AK Party rule. The average income in Turkey rose from $ 2,800 U.S. in 2001 to around $ 10,000 U.S. in 2011, higher than income in some of

2037-526: The Constitutional Court of Turkey to close down the party on charges of violating the separation of religion and state in Turkey. The closure request failed by only one vote, as only six of the 11 judges ruled in favor, with seven required; however, 10 out of 11 judges agreed that the Justice and Development Party had become "a center for anti-secular activities", leading to a loss of 50% of

SECTION 20

#1732776054080

2134-632: The European Court for Human Rights was turned down. Independent candidates may also run and can be elected without needing a threshold. A new term in the parliament began on 2 June 2023, after the June 2023 General Elections . Devlet Bahçeli from the MHP temporarily served as the speaker, as it is customary for the oldest member of the TBMM to serve as speaker during a hung parliament. Numan Kurtulmuş

2231-645: The European People's Party (EPP). However, it left the EPP to join the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (AECR) in 2013. On 14 April 2007, an estimated 300,000 people marched in Ankara to protest the possible candidacy of Erdoğan in the 2007 presidential election , afraid that if elected as president, he would alter the secular nature of the Turkish state. Erdoğan announced on 24 April 2007 that

2328-471: The European People's Party between 2005 and 2013. After not being granted full membership in the EPP, the party became a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) from 2013 to 2018. AK Party has dominated Turkish politics since 2002. It is the sixth largest political party in the world by membership and the biggest in the world outside India, China and the U.S. The AK Party

2425-466: The Great Recession . After the success of the AK Party in the 2007 general elections, the party saw a decline in the 2009 Turkish local elections . In these elections the AK Party received 39% of the vote, 3% less than in the local elections of 2004. Still, the AK Party remained the dominating party in Turkey. The second party CHP received 23% of the vote and the third party MHP received 16% of

2522-625: The Islamic Gülen movement . On 25 April 2016, the Turkish Parliament Speaker İsmail Kahraman told a conference of Islamic scholars and writers in Istanbul that "secularism would not have a place in a new constitution”, as Turkey is “a Muslim country and so we should have a religious constitution". (One of the duties of Parliament Speaker is to pen a new draft constitution for Turkey). As of 2023, some sources define

2619-627: The Ottoman Empire through constitutional monarchy, as well as establishments of caretaker national assemblies immediately prior to the declaration of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 but after the de facto dissolution of the Ottoman Empire earlier in the decade. There were two periods of parliamentary governance during the Ottoman Empire . The First Constitutional Era lasted for only two years, elections being held only twice. After

2716-629: The Ottoman constitution of 1876 , which had come with the democratic reforms resulting in the First Constitutional Era. The Second Constitutional Era began on 23 July 1908 with the Young Turk Revolution . The constitution that was written for the first parliament included control of the sultan on the public and was removed during 1909, 1912, 1914 and 1916, in a session known as the "declaration of freedom". Most of

2813-549: The People's Alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The current parliamentary leader of the AK Party is Abdullah Güler  [ tr ] . Founded in 2001 by members of a number of parties such as FP , ANAP and DYP , the party has a strong base of support among people from the conservative tradition of Turkey, though the party strongly denies it is Islamist . The party positioned itself as pro-liberal market economy, supporting Turkish membership in

2910-667: The TBMM or Parliament ( Turkish : Meclis or Parlamento ), 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 amid the National Campaign . This constitution had founded its pre-government known as 1st Executive Ministers of Turkey (Commitment Deputy Committee) in May 1920. The parliament

3007-598: The Turkish economic crisis , rising authoritarianism as well as alleged government inaction on the Syrian refugee crisis . Soon after the elections, the Turkish government ordered a re-election in Istanbul . The decision led to a downfall on AK Party's popularity and it lost the elections again in June with an even greater margin. The result was seen as a huge blow to Erdoğan, who had once said that if his party 'lost Istanbul, we would lose Turkey.' The opposition's landslide

Joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Centre - Misplaced Pages Continue

3104-433: The national elections of 2002 , Turkey's chief prosecutor, Sabih Kanadoğlu, asked the Turkish constitutional court to close the Justice and Development Party, which was leading in the polls at that time. The chief prosecutor charged the Justice and Development Party with abusing the law and justice. He based his case on the fact that the party's leader had been banned from political life for reading an Islamist poem, and thus

3201-420: The reverse of the Turkish 50,000 lira banknotes of 1989–1999. The building was hit by airstrikes three times during the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt , suffering noticeable damage. It went through a renovation in the summer of 2016. Turkey has had a history of parliamentary government before the establishment of the current national parliament. These include attempts at curbing absolute monarchy during

3298-485: The 1982 Constitution greatly resembled the 1961 Constitution. The 1982 Constitution, from the time it was accepted until the present time, has undergone many changes, especially the "integration laws", which have been introduced within the framework of the European Union membership process, and which has led to a fundamental evolution. After the 2017 constitutional referendums , the first general election of

3395-400: The 550 seat parliament – enough to put the proposals to a referendum. The reform package included a number of issues: such as the right of individuals to appeal to the highest court, the creation of the ombudsman 's office, the possibility to negotiate a nationwide labour contract, positive exceptions for female citizens, the ability of civilian courts to convict members of the military,

3492-408: The 81 administrative provinces of Turkey (Istanbul and Ankara are divided into three electoral districts whereas İzmir and Bursa are divided into two each because of its large populations). To avoid a hung parliament and its excessive political fragmentation, from 1982 to 2022, a party must have won at least 10% of the national vote to qualify for representation in the parliament, but in 2022 this

3589-495: The AK Party has taken an increasingly hardline stance on LGBT issues since coming to power, which has been characterized variously as part of a general trend towards authoritarianism under the AK Party or as motivated by Islamic and militant nationalist sentiments within the party. In 2012, the AK Party voted against a proposal by the BDP to include legalization of same-sex marriage in the redrafted Turkish constitution and in 2013 blocked

3686-555: The AK Party on trumped up "terrorism charges". These charges have drawn condemnation from many western countries, including from the US State Department, the EU, as well as from international and domestic human rights organisations. The party has also been criticized by Turkish and international LGBT rights groups including KAOS GL for homophobic statements made by some AK Party politicians and for what they argue has become

3783-407: The AK Party's agenda is limited to " conservative democracy ". On the other hand, according to at least one observer ( Mustafa Akyol ), under the AK Party government of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan , starting in 2007, "hundreds of secularist officers and their civilian allies" were jailed, and by 2012 the "old secularist guard" in positions of authority was replaced by members/supporters of the AK Party and

3880-609: The AK Party's government the most successful in Turkey in decades. In the local elections of 2004, the AK Party won 42% of the votes, making inroads against the secular Republican People's Party (CHP) on the South and West Coasts, and against the Social Democratic People's Party , which is supported by some Kurds in the South-East of Turkey. In January 2005, the AK Party was admitted as an observer member in

3977-464: The Assembly was under a presidential system , with an executive president who has the power to renew the elections for the Assembly and vice versa. Following the referendum, the number of MPs increased from 550 to 600. Furthermore, due to separation of powers , members of the cabinet can't introduce laws anymore. This task is left to the parliamentarians. In line with this change, the seats for

Joint Russian-Turkish Monitoring Centre - Misplaced Pages Continue

4074-540: The CNU, representatives designated by two parties of that time ( CHP and Republican Villagers National Party, RVNP ), and representatives of various professional associations. The constitutional text drafted by the Constituent Assembly was presented to the voters in a referendum on 9 July 1961 , and was accepted by 61.17% of the voters. The 1961 Constitution , the first prepared by a Constituent Assembly and

4171-503: The European Union . Orange is the party's main colour. Other colours include white for the logo, blue for the flag, and orange-white-blue-red for the corporate design. The AK Party is the only party in Turkey with a significant presence in all provinces of Turkey . Since the beginning of Turkey's multiparty democracy in 1946 , AK Party is the only party to win seven consecutive parliamentary elections. The AK Party has headed

4268-453: The MPs, the Ministers' Board members and the Government representatives. The MPs and the Ministers' Board members can talk in the committees but can not make amendments proposals or vote. Every MP can read the reports of the committees. NGOs can attend the committee meetings upon the invitation of the committee therefore volunteer individual or public participation is not available. Media, but not

4365-406: The Republic and another, Adnan Menderes , Prime Minister . After the a military coup on 27 May 1960 , Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, President Celal Bayar, and all the ministers and members of the Assembly were arrested. The Assembly was closed. The Committee of National Unity , CNU (Milli Birlik Komitesi), assumed all the powers of the Assembly by a provisional constitution and began to run

4462-570: The Turkish Constitution Article 109 the prime ministers had to be also a representative of the Turkish Parliament. Erdoğan, who was banned from holding any political office after a 1994 incident in which he read a poem deemed pro-Islamist by judges, was therefore not. As a result, Gül became prime minister. It survived the crisis over the 2003 invasion of Iraq despite a massive back bench rebellion where over

4559-534: The Turkish nation was to be eliminated under these plans, except for a small region. Nationalist Turkish sentiment rose in the Anatolian peninsula, engendering the establishment of the Turkish national movement . The political developments during this period have made a lasting impact which continues to affect the character of the Turkish nation. During the Turkish War of Independence , Mustafa Kemal put forth

4656-406: The country and its economy would stabilize further "when a prime minister more closely aligned with President Erdoğan takes office". In the general election held on 7 June, the AK Party gained 40.87% of the vote and 258 seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi, TBMM). Though it still remains the biggest party in Turkey, the AK Party lost its status as

4753-453: The country. Executive power was used by ministers appointed by the CNU. The members of the CNU began to work on a new and comprehensive constitution. The Constituent Assembly (Kurucu Meclis), composed of members of the CNU and the members of the House of Representatives, was established to draft a new constitution on 6 January 1961. The House of Representatives consisted of those appointed by

4850-579: The country. The Liberal Party was dissolved on 17 November 1930 and no further attempt at a multiparty democracy was made until 1945. The multi-party period in Turkey was resumed by the founding of the National Development Party ( Milli Kalkınma Partisi ), by Nuri Demirağ , in 1945. The Democrat Party was established the following year, and won the general elections of 1950; one of its leaders, Celal Bayar , becoming President of

4947-788: The deployment of peacekeepers in Azerbaijan. On December 2, the Minister of Defence Hulusi Akar said that the Russian and Turkish governments reached the agreement and that the joint center was under construction. On January 30, 2021, the joint center was opened on the territory of the Aghdam district near the village of Qiyamaddinli . Grand National Assembly of Turkey Confidence and supply (52) Opposition (274) Vacant (7) The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( Turkish : Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi [tyɾcije byjyc milːet medʒlisi] ), usually referred to simply as

SECTION 50

#1732776054080

5044-429: The failure of the parties in parliament to agree on the next Turkish president. The opposition parties boycotted the parliamentary vote and deadlocked the election process. At the same time, Erdoğan claimed the failure to elect a president was a failure of the Turkish political system and proposed to modify the constitution. The AK Party achieved a significant victory in the rescheduled 22 July 2007 elections with 46.6% of

5141-541: The first elections, there were a number of criticisms of the government due to the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–1878 by the representatives, and the assembly was dissolved and an election called on 28 June 1877. The second assembly was also dissolved by the Sultan Abdul Hamid II on 14 February 1878, the result being the return of absolute monarchy with Abdul Hamid II in power and the suspension of

5238-463: The first members of the new Turkish assembly. This Grand National Assembly , established on national sovereignty, held its inaugural session on 23 April 1920. From this date until the end of the Turkish War of Independence in 1923, the provisional government of Turkey was known as the Government of the Grand National Assembly . The first trial of multi-party politics, during the republican era,

5335-645: The first to be presented to the people in a referendum, included innovations in many subjects. The 1961 Constitution stipulated a typical parliamentarian system. According to the Constitution, Parliament was bicameral. The legislative power was vested in the House of Representatives and the Senate . while the executive authority was vested in the President and the Council of Ministers. The Constitution envisaged

5432-444: The former territories of its predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire . However, the party's leadership has also rejected this label. The party's relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood has drawn allegations of Islamism . The AK Party favors a strong centralized leadership, having long advocated for a presidential system of government and significantly reduced the number of elected local government positions in 2013. The party

5529-458: The headscarf is a symbol? Even if it were a political symbol, does that give [one the] right to ban it? Could you bring prohibitions to symbols?" These statements led to a joint proposal of the Justice and Development Party and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party for changing the constitution and the law to lift a ban on women wearing headscarves at state universities. Soon afterwards, Turkey's chief prosecutor, Abdurrahman Yalçınkaya , asked

5626-493: The majority party and the power to form a single-party government. Until then it had held this majority without interruption for 13 years since it had come to power in 2002. In this election, the AK Party was pushing to gain 330 seats in the Grand National Assembly so that it could put a series of constitutional changes to a referendum, one of them was to switch Turkey from the current parliamentary government to an American-style executive presidency government. This pursuit met with

5723-611: The members of the cabinet have been removed from the parliament. These seats were originally located on the left side of the Parliament Speaker . In 2022, at the initiative of the ruling AK Party and its main political ally MHP , the national electoral threshold for a party to enter parliament was lowered from 10 to 7 percent. The General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly hosts foreign dignitaries from time to time. However,

5820-445: The members who would participate in the assembly would be elected and the need to realise elections, at the latest, within 15 days. He also stated that the members of the dispersed Ottoman Chamber of Deputies could also participate in the assembly in Ankara, to increase the representative power of the parliament. These elections were held as planned, in the style of the elections of the preceding Chamber of Deputies, in order to select

5917-463: The modern parliamentary rights that were not granted in the first constitution were granted, such as the abolition of the right of the Sultan to deport citizens that were claimed to have committed harmful activities, the establishment of a free press, a ban on censorship. Freedom to hold meetings and establish political parties was recognized, and the government was held responsible to the assembly, not to

SECTION 60

#1732776054080

6014-399: The national government since 2002 under Abdullah Gül (2002–2003), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2003–2014), Ahmet Davutoğlu (2014–2016), Binali Yıldırım (2016–2018) and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (2018–present). The AK Party's rule has been marked with increasing authoritarianism , expansionism , censorship and banning of other political parties and dissent. The party was an observer in

6111-658: The new EU member states. Other reforms included increasing civilian representation over military in areas of national security, education and media, and grant broadcasting and increased cultural rights to Kurds . On Cyprus, AK Party supported unification of Cyprus , something deeply opposed by the Turkish military . Other AK Party reforms included lifting bans on religious and conservative dress, such as headscarves , in universities and public institutions. AK Party also ended discrimination against students from religious high schools, who previously had to meet additional criteria in areas of education and upon entry to universities. AK Party

6208-532: The notion that there would be only one way for the liberation of the Turkish people in the aftermath of World War I , namely, through the creation of an independent, sovereign Turkish state. The Sultanate was abolished by the newly founded parliament in 1922, paving the way for the formal proclamation of the republic that was to come on 29 October 1923. Mustafa Kemal , in a speech he made on 19 March 1920 announced that "an Assembly will be gathered in Ankara that will possess extraordinary powers" and communicated how

6305-558: The office of a prime minister , as well as that of the speaker of the Senate. The lower chamber of the General Assembly was the Chamber of Deputies of the Ottoman Empire , the members of which were elected by the general public . After World War I , the victorious Allied Powers sought the dismemberment of the Ottoman Empire through the Treaty of Sèvres . The sovereign existence of

6402-596: The office. The result of the Kurdish issues-centered Peoples' Democratic Party , HDP, breaking through the 10% threshold to achieve 13.12% out of the total votes cast and gaining 80 seats in the Grand National Assembly in the election, which caused the AK Party to lose its parliamentary majority. In the 2019 local elections , the ruling party AK Party lost control of Istanbul and Ankara for the first time in 15 years, as well as five of Turkey's six largest cities. The loss has been widely attributed to AK Party's mismanagement of

6499-473: The only Turkish province where the Alevi form a majority. Abdullah Gül was elected as the President in late August with 339 votes in the third round – the first at which a simple majority is required – after deadlock in the first two rounds, in which a two-thirds majority was needed. After the opposition parties deadlocked the 2007 presidential election by boycotting the parliament, the ruling AK Party proposed

6596-511: The other hand, MPs do not have to work for a committee either. Number of members of each committee is determined by the proposal of the Advisory Council and the approval of the General Assembly. Sub committees are established according to the issue that the committee receives. Only State-owned Enterprises (SOEs) Committee has constant sub committees that are specifically responsible for a group of SOEs. Committee meetings are open to

6693-540: The party as being "rooted in political Islam" and an "Islamist-rooted party". In recent years, the ideology of the party has shifted more towards Turkish nationalism , causing liberals such as Ali Babacan and some conservatives such as Ahmet Davutoğlu and Abdullah Gül to leave the party. Several writers have also labelled the party as being right-wing populist since 2007. The party's foreign policy has also been widely described as Neo-Ottomanist , an ideology that promotes renewed Turkish political engagement in

6790-452: The party had decided to nominate Abdullah Gül as the AK Party candidate in the presidential election. The protests continued over the next several weeks, with over one million reported at an 29 April rally in Istanbul, tens of thousands reported at separate protests on 4 May in Manisa and Çanakkale , and one million in İzmir on 13 May. Early parliamentary elections were called after

6887-456: The party had no standing in elections. The European Commission had previously criticized Turkey for banning the party's leader from participating in elections. The party again faced a closure trial in 2008 brought about by the lifting of a long-standing university ban on headscarves. At an international press conference in Spain, Erdoğan answered a question of a journalist by saying, "What if

6984-455: The party has brought about tighter regulations on abortion and higher taxes on alcohol consumption , leading to allegations that it is covertly undermining Turkish secularism. Some activists, commentators, opponents and government officials have accused the party of Islamism. The Justice and Development Party has faced two "closure cases" (attempts to officially ban the party, usually for Islamist practices) in 2002 and 2008. Just 10 days before

7081-408: The party is accused by some of restricting some civil liberties and internet use in Turkey, having temporarily blocked access to Twitter and YouTube in March 2014. Especially after the government corruption scandal involving several AKP ministers in 2013, the party has been increasingly accused of crony capitalism . The AK Party favors a strong centralized leadership, having long advocated for

7178-527: The party is described as an Islamist party in some media, party officials reject those claims. According to former minister Hüseyin Çelik , "In the Western press, when the AK Party administration – the ruling party of the Turkish Republic – is being named, most of the time 'Islamic,' 'Islamist,' 'mildly Islamist,' 'Islamic-oriented,' 'Islamic-based' or 'with an Islamic agenda,' and similar language

7275-419: The party outpolling the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party in traditional Kurdish strongholds such as Van and Mardin , as well as outpolling the secular-left CHP in traditionally secular areas such as Antalya and Artvin . Overall, the AK Party secured a plurality of votes in 68 of Turkey's 81 provinces, with its strongest vote of 71% coming from Bingöl . Its weakest vote, a mere 12%, came from Tunceli ,

7372-559: The party was described as liberal conservative , conservative liberal , economically liberal , pro-European , and center-right . Some members of the True Path Party , such as Hüseyin Çelik and Köksal Toptan , joined the AK Party. Some members, such as Kürşad Tüzmen or Ertuğrul Günay , had nationalist or center-left backgrounds respectively, while representatives of the nascent, more clearly anti-capitalist 'Muslim left' current were largely excluded. In addition,

7469-636: The protocol here may vary depending on the situation. For the foreign guest to make a speech a decision of the General Assembly is required. ________________________________________________________ 39°54′42″N 32°51′04″E  /  39.91167°N 32.85111°E  / 39.91167; 32.85111 Justice and Development Party (Turkey) The Justice and Development Party ( Turkish : Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi , Turkish pronunciation: [adaːˈlet ve kaɫkɯnˈma paɾtiˈsi] , AK PARTİ ), abbreviated officially as AK Party in English,

7566-435: The referendum was 91.27%. As a result, the 1982 Constitution was passed with 91.37% of the votes. The greatest change brought about by the 1982 Constitution was the unicameral parliamentary system. The number of MPs were 550 members. The executive was empowered and new and more definite limitations were introduced on fundamental rights and freedoms. Also, a 10% electoral threshold was introduced. Except for these aspects,

7663-698: The right of civil servants to go on strike, a privacy law, and the structure of the Constitutional Court. The referendum was agreed by a majority of 58%. In the presidential election of 2014 , the AK Party's long time leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was elected president. In the party's first extraordinary congress , former foreign minister Ahmet Davutoğlu was unanimously elected unopposed as party leader and took over as prime minister on 28 August 2014. Davutoğlu stepped down as prime minister on 4 May 2016 following policy disagreements with President Erdoğan. Presidential aide Cemil Ertem said to Turkish TV that

7760-406: The state funding for the party. The party has won pluralities in the seven most recent legislative elections, those of 2002 , 2007 , 2011 , June 2015 , November 2015 , 2018 and 2023 . The party held a majority of seats for 13 years, but lost it in June 2015, only to regain it in the snap election of November 2015 but then lose it again in 2018. Its past electoral success has been mirrored in

7857-615: The sultan. During the two constitutional eras of the Ottoman Empire, the Ottoman parliament was called the General Assembly of the Ottoman Empire and was bicameral. The upper house was the Senate of the Ottoman Empire , the members of which were selected by the sultan. The role of the Grand Vizier , the centuries-old top ministerial office in the empire, transformed in line with other European states into one identical to

7954-421: The three local elections held since the party's establishment, coming first in 2004 , 2009 and 2014 respectively. However, the party lost most of Turkey's biggest cities including Istanbul and Ankara in 2019 local elections , which has been attributed to the Turkish economic crisis , accusations of authoritarianism, as well as alleged government inaction on the Syrian refugee crisis . The AK Party won

8051-515: The values of our nation" and in 2020 endorsed controversial anti-gay statements made by Muslim scholar Ali Erbaş which had received condemnation from some Turkish lawyers and human rights groups. In 2021, AK Party vice chairman and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu declared LGBT people to be "perverts." Turkish constitutional law experts Sule Ozsoy Boyunsuz and Serkan Koybasi have described public statements on gay people made by AK Party politicians as both constituting as hate speech and contradicting

8148-401: The visual media, can attend the meetings. The media representatives are usually the parliamentary staff of the media institutions. The committees can prevent the attendance of the media with a joint decision. The 28th Parliament of Turkey took office on 2 June 2023, following the ratification of the results of the general election held on 14 May 2023 . The composition of the 28th Parliament,

8245-407: The vote, translating into control of 341 of the 550 available parliamentary seats. Although the AK Party received significantly more votes in 2007 than in 2002, the number of parliamentary seats they controlled decreased due to the rules of the Turkish electoral system . However, they retained a comfortable ruling majority. Nationally, the elections of 2007 saw a major advance for the AK Party, with

8342-476: The vote. The AK Party won in Turkey's largest cities: Ankara and Istanbul . Reforming the Constitution was one of the main pledges of the AK Party during the 2007 election campaign. The main opposition party CHP was not interested in altering the Constitution on a big scale, making it impossible to form a Constitutional Commission ( Anayasa Uzlaşma Komisyonu ). The amendments lacked the two-thirds majority needed to instantly become law, but secured 336 votes in

8439-452: The ‘triumph of democracy’ over the plotters, and listening to speeches equating the civilian counter-coup that aborted the takeover with historic Ottoman victories going back 1000 years. Campaigns have been organised to release higher education personnel and to drop charges against them for peaceful exercise of academic freedom. Imprisonment of political activists continues, while the chair of Amnesty Turkey has been jailed for standing up to

8536-539: Was an observer in the centre-right European People's Party between 2005 and 2013 and a member of the Eurosceptic Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe (ACRE) from 2013 to 2018. In 2005, the party was granted observer membership in the European People's Party (EPP). In November 2013, the party left the EPP to join the Alliance of European Conservatives and Reformists (now European Conservatives and Reformists Party) instead. This move

8633-495: Was attributed to the AK Party's disappointment to not to be granted full membership in the EPP, while it was admitted as a full member of the AECR. It drew criticism in both national and European discourses, as the driving force of Turkey's aspirations to become a member of the European Union decided to join a largely eurosceptic alliance, abandoning the more influential pro-European EPP, feeding suspicions that AK Party wants to join

8730-413: Was characterized as the 'beginning of the end' for Erdoğan, with international commentators calling the re-run a huge government miscalculation that can lead to a potential İmamoğlu candidacy in the next scheduled presidential election . It is suspected that the scale of the government's defeat could provoke a cabinet reshuffle and early general elections, currently scheduled for June 2023. Although

8827-455: Was designed by architect Vedat (Tek) Bey (1873–1942) and used from 1924 to 1960. It is now been converted as the Museum of the Republic . The Grand National Assembly is now housed in a modern and imposing building in the Bakanlıklar neighborhood of Ankara. The monumental building's project was designed by architect and professor Clemens Holzmeister (1886–1993). The building was depicted on

8924-453: Was elected after the snap elections on 7 June 2023. The parliament's minutes are translated into the four languages: Arabic , Russian , English and French , but not in the Kurdish language which is the second most spoken native language in Turkey. Though phrases in the Kurdish language can be permitted, whole speeches remain forbidden. Parties who have at least 20 deputies may form

9021-534: Was established by a wide range of politicians of various political parties and a number of new politicians in 2001. The core of the party was formed from the reformist faction of the Islamist Virtue Party , including people such as Abdullah Gül and Bülent Arınç , while a second founding group consisted of members of the social conservative Motherland Party who had been close to Turgut Özal , such as Cemil Çiçek and Abdülkadir Aksu . Historically

9118-404: Was fundamental in the efforts of Mareşal Mustafa Kemal Atatürk , 1st President of the Republic of Turkey , and his colleagues to found a new state out of the remnants of the Ottoman Empire . There are 600 members of parliament (deputies) who are elected for a five-year term by the D'Hondt method , a party-list proportional representation system, from 87 electoral districts which represent

9215-545: Was made in 1924 by the establishment of the Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet Fırkası (Progressive Republican Party) at the request of Mustafa Kemal, which was closed after several months. Following a 6-year one-party rule, after the foundation of the Serbest Fırka (Liberal Party) by Ali Fethi Okyar , again at the request of Mustafa Kemal, in 1930, some violent disorders took place, especially in the eastern parts of

9312-406: Was reduced to 7%. As a result of the 10% threshold, only two parties won seats in the legislature after the 2002 elections and three in 2007. The 2002 elections saw every party represented in the previous parliament ejected from the chamber and parties representing 46.3% of the voter turnout were excluded from being represented in parliament. This threshold has been criticized, but a complaint with

9409-587: Was suspended and political parties were dissolved. Many politicians were forbidden from entering politics again. The military power ruling the country established a "Constituent Assembly", as had been done in 1961. The Constituent Assembly was composed of the National Security Council and the Advisory Assembly. Within two years, the new constitution was drafted and was presented to the referendum on 7 November 1982 . Participation in

#79920