1950 Turkish general election in the context of "One-party period of the Republic of Turkey"

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⭐ Core Definition: 1950 Turkish general election

General elections were held in Turkey on 14 May 1950, using the multiple non-transferable vote electoral system. The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Democrat Party (DP), which won 416 of the 487 seats with 55% of the vote.

Unlike the previous elections in 1946, the 1950 elections took place in a calm atmosphere. The results meant that Republican People's Party (CHP) was ousted from power for the first time since the foundation of the republic. Due to the electoral system designed to boost the dominant party's parliamentary numbers, the Democrat Party won 85% of the seats with only 55% of the popular vote. The CHP won 14% of the seats despite receiving nearly 40% of the popular vote.

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👉 1950 Turkish general election in the context of One-party period of the Republic of Turkey

Turkey was a one-party state when it was established in 1923. The Republican People's Party (CHP) was the only party until 1945, when the National Development Party was established. After winning the first multiparty elections in 1946 by a landslide, the Republican People's Party lost the majority to the Democratic Party in the 1950 elections. During the one-party period, President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk repeatedly requested that opposition parties be established to stand against the Republican People's Party in order to transition into multi-party democracy. Kâzım Karabekir established the Progressive Republican Party in 1924 but it was banned after its members' involvement in the 1925 Sheikh Said rebellion. In 1930 the Liberal Republican Party was established but then dissolved again by its founder. Despite Atatürk's efforts to establish a self-propagating multi-party system, this was only established after his 1938 death.

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1950 Turkish general election in the context of Atatürk's Reforms

Atatürk's reforms (Turkish: Atatürk İnkılapları or Atatürk Devrimleri), also referred to as the Turkish Revolution (Turkish: Türk Devrimi), were a series of political, legal, religious, cultural, social, and economic policy changes, designed to transform the new Republic of Turkey into a secular, modern nation-state, implemented under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in accordance with the Kemalist framework. The principal political entity, the Republican People's Party (CHP), ruled Turkey as a one-party state from 1923 to 1945, with several exceptions of attempts for a multi-party democracy.

Following Atatürk's death in 1938, his successor İsmet İnönü took over the leadership and integrated further Kemalist reforms. İnönü's work was, however, stranded by World War II. The CHP eventually lost the elections to the Democratic Party in 1950, putting an end to the Turkish Revolution.

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← Atatürk's Reforms ← Atatürk's reforms ← One-party period of the Republic of Turkey
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Turkey → Multiple non-transferable vote → Landslide victory → Democrat Party (Turkey, historical) → Republican People's Party → Parliament →