2017 Turkish constitutional referendum in the context of "Nationalist Movement Party"

The Constitution of Turkey, formally known as the Constitution of the Republic of Türkiye (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası), and informally as the Constitution of 1982 (Turkish: 1982 Anayasası), is Turkey's fundamental law. It establishes the organization of the government, and sets out the principles and rules of the state's conduct along with its responsibilities in regards to its citizens. The constitution also establishes the rights and responsibilities of the latter while setting the guidelines for the delegation and exercise that sovereignty belongs entirely and without doubt to the people.

The constitution was ratified on 7 November 1982. It replaced the earlier Constitution of 1961. The constitution was amended 21 times, three of them through a referendum: 2007, 2010, 2017, one of them partly through referendum: 1987. As of April 2017, 117 of the 177 articles of the Constitution of 1982 were amended overall.

The 3rd Justice and Development Party Extraordinary Congress took place on 20 and 21 May 2017 in order to elect a party leader and members to the party congress of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The party's founder and first leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was the only candidate for the post, having left the leadership upon his election as President in 2014. Having been initially required to sever his political party relations on grounds of impartiality, a constitutional referendum in 2017 turned Turkey into an executive presidency, allowing Erdoğan to return to the AK Party and become its leader.

The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the Turkish military. The president also heads the National Security Council.

The office of the president of Turkey was established with the proclamation of the Republic of Türkiye on 29 October 1923, with the first president and founder being Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Traditionally, the presidency was mostly a ceremonial position, with real executive authority being exercised by the prime minister of Turkey. However, constitutional amendments approved in the 2017 constitutional referendum abolished the office of prime minister, and vested the presidency with full executive powers, effective upon the 2018 general election. The president is directly elected by eligible Turkish voters for a five-year term.

The prime minister of Turkey, officially the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (Turkish: Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Başbakanı), was the head of government of the Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Turkish Parliament and presided over the cabinet. Throughout the political history of Turkey, functions and powers of the post have changed occasionally. Prior to its dissolution as a result of the 2017 Constitutional Referendum, the holder of the premiership was generally the dominant figure in Turkish politics, outweighing the president.

Parliamentary elections were held in Turkey on 24 June 2018 as part of general elections, with presidential elections taking place on the same day. Originally scheduled for 27 October 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan called snap elections on 18 April after months of speculation. With the passage of a series of constitutional amendments in the 2017 referendum, the number of MPs will be increased from the previous 550 to 600. These representatives will be elected by the constituents of the 87 electoral districts of Turkey by party-list proportional representation.

The referendum in 2017 triggered a transition from a parliamentary system to an executive presidency. As such, the Grand National Assembly elected in 2018 was not entitled to appoint the prime minister and cabinet after the elections. While the office of prime minister was set to be abolished altogether, cabinet ministers will primarily serve at the pleasure of the president, who is to fill the role of both head of state and head of government.

The Good Party (Turkish: İYİ Parti) is a nationalist, Kemalist and conservative political party in Turkey, established on 25 October 2017 by Meral Akşener. The party's name and flag is a reference to the tamga of the Kayı tribe.

The party was formed as a result in a split by prominent former members of Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and later joined by some former members of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). The party's founder and chairperson, Meral Akşener, and its deputy chairperson, Koray Aydın, are both former members of the MHP before establishing the party. Plans to form a new party emerged amongst prominent MHP defectors after the MHP's support for a 'Yes' vote in the controversial 2017 constitutional referendum, as well as a failed attempt to unseat the party's governing leader. In addition to endorsing a more moderate civic nationalism as opposed to the ardent ethnic nationalism of the MHP, the party runs on an anti-establishment platform criticising both the governing and opposition parties in Turkey for their ineffectiveness. The party describes itself as being in the centre of political spectrum though third-party sources have described the party as being centre-right or on the right-wing of the political spectrum.

The Nation Alliance (Turkish: Millet İttifakı), abbreviated as NATION (Turkish: MİLLET), was an electoral and political alliance in Turkey, made up of six opposition parties to contest the 2023 Turkish general election against its main rival, the People's Alliance. Originally established prior to the country's 2018 general election, the alliance had consisted of four opposition parties across the political spectrum, which had found common ground on withstanding Turkey's newly established presidential system. The alliance dissolved in 1 June 2023 following its narrow defeat in the 2023 elections, after the Good Party's announcement that they were no longer a part of it.

Although Nation had become inactive as a bloc following their defeat in 2018; the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good Party (İYİ) restored the alliance for the 2019 local elections, which delivered the opposition their first major electoral successes in years. The alliance enlarged, welcoming two breakaway parties from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP); namely the Future Party (GP) and Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA). Shortly after the enlargement, Nation Alliance announced its prospective government platform, becoming the first political entity in Turkey to do so prior to an election.