Republican People's Party (Turkey)

History

CHP and Single-Party Period

Republican People's Party is accepted to be established on 9 September 1923. After the effective Turkish War of Independence, the first cabinet of the Republic of Turkey was formed on October 30 by Ismet Inönü, the closest ally of Mustafa Kemal. On 10 November 1924, People's Party was renamed as the Republican People's Party (CHP). This is the beginning of the Single-Party Period of Republic of Turkey, which CHP politics was the main politics.

CHP and Multiparty Period

The day after Atatürk's death, Ismet Inönü was elected the second president and assumed the leadership of the Republican People's Party (CHP). On the general nationwide congress of CHP on 26 December 1938, Ismet Inönü was elected as the "everlasting CHP leader" after Atatürk era. The delegates donated Atatürk the title "eternal chief", and to Inönü the title "national chief".

Inonu Period

At the elections of 1946, CHP gained 396 seats and ranked as the first party. However, to protect their seats before the 1946 elections, CHP had introduced and passed the antidemocratic electoral legislation bringing the winner-take-all system. In this system, if a party got the most votes in a province, it would have captured all seats of that province. However at the elections of 1950, Republican People's Party was hit by its own electoral system, DP gained 408 with 53.3% vote. This was followed by the defeat on 3 September 1950 municipal elections, in which DP gained 560 municipalities, and CHP only 40 municipalities.

Real multiparty democracy, parlement, started with CHP transferring power to DP in a peaceful manner, without a revolution or a coup. From that time on, Republican People's Party formed the official opposition.

On 26 November 1951, in the ninth Congress of CHP, youth branch and women branch of CHP were formed. On 22 June 1953 establishment of labor unions and vocational chambers was proposed, and the right to strike for workers was introduced in 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. However, from that time on, CHP started increasing its votes, CHP intensified its opposition tactics, increasing its vote share to 41%, gaining 178 seats, in the 27 October 1957 elections. DP gained 424 seats with 47.9% vote.

Since Democratic Party could not stand the opposition of CHP; DP threatened to close CHP, and confiscated all belongings of CHP, including the heritage of Atatürk. In addition, Democratic Party also oppressed other opposition parties; suppressing the media, and violating democracy.

In addition to the authoritarian government, Democratic Party also suffered from corruption and increasing inflation, caused by the devaluation and external debt. In the single-party CHP government, CHP developed the railway system; but DP insisted on the highways and motorways, which increased the petroleum demand of the young Turkish Republic, creating great economic crises.

Eventually on 27 May 1960; the Turkish army, supported by the media, university professors and the opposition, seized the power and overthrew the dictating Democratic Party government.

In the military coup of 1960, National Unity Committee was formed by the upper-class soldiers. National Unity Committee closed Democratic Party and started trials to punish Democratic Party leaders for their dictator regime. As a result, on 16/17 September 1961, Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, Foreign Minister Fatin Rüstü Zorlu, and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan were hanged in Imrali 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, 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, Constitutional Court was to be established, to prevent the government from violating the constitution (just as in the example of DP). 1961 constitution is accepted to be the most liberal and democratic constitution of Turkey. Also, the winner-take-all electoral system was immediately abolished, and proportional representation system was introduced. 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. 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, below the last vote of DP. CHP leader Ismet Inönü formed the coalition with Justice Party (AP) as the prime minister. This was the first coalition government in Turkey's history. Inönü established two coalition governments until the 1965 elections.

Süleyman Demirel became prime minister in the late 1960's, 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 and democrats.

Ecevit Period

In 1975, the CHP was again defeated by the Justice Party, where Demirel became prime minister again. From 1977 to 1979, the CHP was back in power with Ecevit (mostly in coalition with smaller parties including oddly enough the Islamist MSP party of Necmettin Erbakan later to be leader of the Refah Party), 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

In 1991, since Turkey's election system had two unfair 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).

Until 1998, Turkey was ruled by the center right Motherland Party (ANAP) and the True Path Party (DYP), unofficial successors of the Democrat Party. In 1995, the Islamic Welfare Party (Refah Party) 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-right 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 overthrow the government with the vote of "no confidence". Just before the elections of 1999, DSP formed an interim minority government with the support of DYP and ANAP; and the terrorist PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is captured in Kenya under the Ecevit rule.

Therefore in the elections of 1999, all nationalist and left votes have switched to DSP and CHP failed to pass the 10 % threshold (8.7 % vote), winning no seats in Parliament - and things didn't look good for it after the creation of the moderate Islamic conservative Justice and Development Party in 2001.

The political coalitions which ruled Turkey from the center right ANAP and DYP to the center left DSP were increasingly making the country unstable. The Islamists returned with a new party the Fazilet (which was also later banned) while MHP the far right nationalist party had began to take advantage of the disillusionment felt by former supporters of the Refah Party and the ever bickering ANAP and DYP.

Finally a coalition was formed (generally assumed under the force of hand of the army) between DSP-ANAP-MHP it was doomed to fail and a seemingly unimportant argument between Bülent Ecevit and Ahmet Necdet Sezer the president sent the Turkish stock markets into freefall, a political crisis followed causing the collapse of the coalition and elections to be held. (Actually the economic crisis was a result of the endless corruptions for which ANAP, DYP, DSP, RP, and MHP are responsible, therefore the Sezer-Ecevit argument only lighted the fire.)

Baykal Period

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

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 AKP 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 AKP across the country, losing strongholds such as the staunchly secular holiday city of 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 recent events Baykal is bidding for fusing the DSP and CHP together. An idea that has gained much support in both parties.^{[[Citing sources citation needed]]}

Current

CHP's strength is particularly strongly felt in secular regions in Thrace, and the Aegean, Mediterranean, and (partially) Black Sea coasts, among the upper middle class, civil service and military élites (CHP have traditionally considered themselves to be the 'party of the army' and have often called upon the army or threatened opposition with the army to seize power (hardly an advertisement for democracy) and among certain religious minorities such as the Alevi, Christians and Jews. The latter two groups and business have moved to the CHP more in recent years, with the rise of the democratic Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) and weakening of the secular right-wing. Ak party for their part, have been keen to reach out to minorities living within Turkey they were even going to stand an Armenian businessman in local elections in Kadikoy they have also moved to have the Alevi faith taught in schools. While they argue that they represent all of Turkey and so see no reason why they should be exclusively an 'Islamic' party there is no doubt that moves they hope will eat away further at support for CHP.

The party was also hampered by tensions between its internationalist social-democratic and nationalist étatist wings until Deniz Baykal became the sole prominent figure in the party and most protagonists of the internationalist wing left.

Notes

See also

• Politics of Turkey
• List of political parties in Turkey
• Kemal Atatürk
• İsmet İnönü
• Deniz Baykal
• Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
• Kemalist Ideology

External link

• [Republican People's Party of Turkey (in Turkish)]

Bibliography

Web Pages

Belgenet Archive Web Site [link] and [link]

Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism [link]

Printed Resources

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