Maturing democracy on the way to Çankaya

While some prime ministers or party leaders were blackmailed during the presidential election, the Parliament was practically blockaded in others.

In 1961 respected academic Ali Fuat Başgil was forced to withdraw from his presidential candidacy by two gun-toting generals. As in his example, unwanted candidates were sometimes dissuaded with death threats. These fierce struggles up until now have been recorded in the history of Turkish politics as the "Çankaya Wars." But it is an undeniable truth that the elections have become more democratic with time in the 84-year history of the republic. Almost all of the earlier presidents of Turkey were from the state's founding fathers and had a military background. Atatürk, the first president, and İsmet İnönü, his successor, each served as president during a consecutive period of four terms within the single-party system. Celal Bayar, who succeeded İnönü, was the first civilian president of Turkey. However, the 10-year democratic process was interrupted with the May 27, 1960, coup d'état.

The period of presidents with a military background restarted with the 1960 coup and lasted until 1989, when Turgut Özal was elected. The civil initiative that established itself in its truest form for the first time with Özal continued with Süleyman Demirel and Ahmet Necdet Sezer. During the last three terms, the determinant has been the political parties. And today, the Çankaya Palace is preparing to host another civilian president.

[STEP-BY-STEP ELECTION PROCESS]

To be completed in a month

According to the Constitution, the process of the presidential election begins one month before the current president's term in office expires. The elections have to be completed within 30 days starting from this date. The first 10 days of this process is for candidates to apply. The rest of the procedures are supposed to be completed in the next 20 days.

10 days for application
President Sezer's term expires on May 16. Therefore application for candidacy may be made as of today. Those who will stand for election or those nominated are supposed to submit their petitions to the Presidential Council of the Turkish Parliament by Wednesday, April 25, at 12 p.m. When the procedures concerning the applications have been completed, the Parliamentary Advisory Board will decide the dates and hours of the voting rounds.

184 deputies for assembling
If the number of deputies in the General Assembly on the predefined date is 184 or above, the first round of the secret voting will be held.

367 seats for first 2 rounds
According to the Constitution, in order for any of the candidates to be elected, he or she has to receive two-thirds of the votes (367) of all deputies (550) during the first two rounds.

276 for third round
In the event none of the candidates surpasses the aforementioned barrier, the threshold lowers to an absolute majority for the third round, which is 276 in the 550-member Parliament. If this number cannot be reached, either, the two candidates who received the most votes will compete during the fourth round.

Two candidates to compete for 4th round
In the fourth round, the candidate who gets the most votes will be elected. If the president cannot be elected in this round, Parliament will be dissolved and general elections must be held within 45 days.

Candidates must be 40 or older and university graduates

In order to be able to run for president, a candidate must be 40 years of age or above, have a university degree and have all the qualities that would allow him or her to be deputy. Deputies cannot stand for presidential elections solely of their own volition. An extra-parliamentary candidate can run if his or her candidacy is approved by the minimum number of 110 deputies. The president is elected for a term of seven years. Someone who has served as president for one term cannot be elected again. When one has been elected president, his ties to his party are cut off and his deputyship ends.

Substantial authority with no accountability

* The president opens Parliament on the first day of the legislative term, and he convenes Parliament if deemed necessary. He is the authority who approves laws. He sends the laws he considers to be inappropriate back to Parliament.

* He appoints members of the Constitutional Court, one-quarter of the Council of State members, the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, the deputy prosecutor, the members of the Military Court of Appeals, the members of the Military Supreme Administrative Court and the Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges.

* In special cases he may extenuate prison sentences or grant pardons. He chooses the members of the State Supervisory Board and has them inspect and supervise anything he wants. He appoints the members of the Higher Education Board and university rectors.

* He submits constitutional amendments made by Parliament to a public vote if he deems it necessary. He can file a request for annulment in the Constitutional Court for any law he chooses.

* He appoints the prime minister. He is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces on behalf of the Parliament. He appoints the chief of general staff. He summons the National Security Council to meetings and presides over them.

* The legal decisions and orders signed by the president in his official capacity cannot be appealed to any judicial authority, including the Constitutional Court. At worst, he can be charged with treason, in which case hard evidence and the vote of three-fourths of the members of Parliament are needed to remove him from office.

16 stars on the presidential flag represent Turkish states in history The 16 stars on the presidential flag symbolize the 16 Turkish empires throughout history, and the sun in the middle of the stars symbolizes the Republic of Turkey. The use of the flag is based on certain rules. It accompanies the president wherever he goes and remains on the flag mast all day and night of whatever place he is visiting or staying. The flag is placed behind the president's desk in his office, to his left. It is placed also on the left side of the hood of his official car. The 16 Turkish states in history are:

* The Great Hun Empire * The Western Hun Empire * The European Hun Empire * The White Hun Empire * The Göktürk Empire * The Avar Empire * The Khazar Empire * The Uygur Empire * The Karahan State * The Gazne State The Great Seljuk Empire * The Harzemshah State * The Golden Horde State * The Empire of Timur Khan * The Empire of Babür * The Ottoman Empire

[Turkey's presidents]

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1923-1938)
Born in 1881 in Thessaloniki, he founded the Turkish Parliament on April 23, 1920. Atatürk led the Turkish forces in their War of Independence and declared the republic on Oct. 29, 1923. On the same day he was elected the first president of the newly born republic, receiving 158 votes from the 291-member Parliament (some sources say there were 270 or 350 members). He was re-elected president in 1927, 1931 and 1935.

İsmet İnönü (1938-1950)
Born on Sept.24, 1884 in İzmir, after Atatürk's death he was elected president by the Parliament with 348 votes, on Nov.11, 1938. He was re-elected three times, just like Atatürk, and served until May 22, 1950. The greatest service he did to the nation was to adopt an impartial policy that kept Turkey out of the first-hand devastation of World War II. The transition to the multi-party system took place during his term, under internal and external pressure, in 1946.

Celal Bayar (1950-1960)
Leaving the Republican People's Party (CHP), he founded the Democrat Party (DP) on Jan. 7, 1946. When the DP arrived in power at its second elections, he went to Çankaya on May 22, 1950 as the first civilian president of Turkey. He was re-elected in 1954 and 1957 but was toppled by a coup d'état in 1960. He was tried on the notorious Yassi Island and sentenced to death, later commuted to life imprisonment. In 1964 he was released with a special pardon granted on account of his deteriorating health.

Cemal Gürsel (1960-1966)
Born in Erzurum in 1895, he was appointed Land Forces commander in 1958 and overthrew the government on May 27, 1960 with a military coup. He was elected by the Parliament as the fourth president on Oct. 26, 1961. However during his fifth year as president he suddenly fell ill and lapsed into a coma. When his inability to continue in his post was documented with an official health report, Parliament ended his presidency on March 26, 1966.

Cevdet Sunay (1966-1973)
Born in Trabzon in 1899, after the military coup of May 27, 1960 he was appointed commander of the Land Forces, and in August 1960, as the chief of general staff. He was made presidential senator on March 15, 1966 and elected president on March 28, 1966, serving until March 28, 1973. He later became a member of the Republican Senate, as required by the Constitution.

Fahri S. Korutürk (1973-1980)
Born on Aug.15, 1903 in İstanbul, he served as the Naval Forces commander in 1959. He retired after the coup in 1960 and assumed a post in the Foreign Ministry. He became a senator in 1968 and entered the election as the common candidate of the Justice Party and the CHP, running against Chief of General Staff Gen. Faruk Gürler. On April 6, 1973 he received votes from 365 out of 557 members in the 15th round of voting, becoming president.

Kenan Evren (1982-1989)
Born in the Alaşehir district of Manisa, he became the chief of general staff on March 7, 1978. When the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) staged a coup on Sept.12, 1980, he became head of state. Based on the temporary Article 1 he became the president with the acceptance of the new Constitution, agreed by referendum on Nov.7, 1982. He was recorded as the only president who did not swear in before the Turkish Parliament.

Turgut Özal (1989-1993)
Born on Oct. 13, 1927 in Malatya, he engineered the Jan. 24 decisions, which were the first steps taken toward a liberal economy. He founded the Motherland Party (then ANAP, now ANAVATAN) in 1983 and arrived in power with elections held in the same year. He opened up the formerly introverted Turkey with wide-sweeping economic and democratic changes. He went to Çankaya on Oct. 31, 1989, garnering 263 votes in the third round. Before he finished the fourth year of his presidency he died of a heart attack on April 17, 1993.

Süleyman Demirel (1993-2000)
Born in the village of İslamköy, Isparta, on Nov.1, 1924, he served as prime minister seven times; first in 1965 and last in 1991. He was exposed to two military coups as prime minister, the first being a military note given in March 12, 1971, and the second a direct military intervention on Sept.12, 1980. Upon Özal's sudden passing, he was elected the ninth president on May 16, 1993, receiving 244 votes. The Feb. 28 process, recorded by history as a "post-modern coup," was perpetrated during his term. He was accused of being the architect of the process.

Ahmet Necdet Sezer (2000-2007)
Born on Sept. 13, 1941 in the city of Afyon. On May 5, 2000 he was elected president. His term in office has been noticeable for his confrontations with both governments he has worked with. His throwing a book of the Constitution at then PM Ecevit during a MGK meeting on Feb. 21, 2001 triggered the worst economic crisis of the modern republic. Controversy has courted much of his term in office, most noticeably for his refusal to allow deputies with headscarf-wearing wives into Çankaya Palace.

Facilities at the Çankaya Palace

Turkish presidents reside in the palace, which takes its name from Ankara's Çankaya district in the south of the capital. The palace, which was first used by Atatürk, has an important place in the history of Turkish politics. The compound, which has been enlarged in time with additional buildings and facilities, covers an area of over 400 acres.

Pink Villa
So called due to its pink-colored pillars, Atatürk used this mansion as his residence and working office from 1932 until his death. The other presidents continued this tradition. Three sides of the mansion are covered with the pinkish Ankara (andesite) stone. The basement consists of a largish terrace. The ground floor is used to work and welcome visitors and the first floor comprises accommodation areas.

Gate No.1
The main entrance of the presidential premises, the gate is also used as the protocol entrance. The small facility surrounding the bronze gate, flanked by walls of Ankara stone, consists of a 230-square-meter security check building and a 140-square-meter military unit building.

Glass Villa
Atatürk had this villa built in 1935 for his sister Makbule Atadan. The single-storey residence was extensively modified and extended in 1996, since when it has served as a guest house for visiting heads of states.

Shelter
Built during İsmet İnönü's presidency, the shelter is about 50 meters behind the palace. The shelter was designed as the president's office in the event of a nuclear attack on Ankara.

Health Center
With its policlinic and labs, this serves the employees of the Secretariat General of the Presidency.

Museum Villa
The original Çankaya Palace used by Atatürk until 1932, both as home and workplace. Now a museum, the house has two floors; the first floor consists of the green hall, with a pool table and a piano, the dining hall and the ambassadorial reception room. The second floor has a large sofa, a study and a library, a bedroom, living room and bathroom.

Press Conference Hall
Occupying a total of 3,900 square meters, the press conference hall was commissioned and built underground during the term of ninth President Süleyman Demirel in order not to spoil the small forest on the premises.

Service Building
The New Service Building, which is used as a workplace by the various units of the presidency, contains the meeting and reception halls as well as the president's official office and study.

Pyramid Hall
The palace's technological center, so to say. Built in 1999 the hall contains devices used for simultaneous translation, audio devices and cameras.

Social Facilities
Occupying a 2,000-square-meter area, it contains a shooting range, sports center and cafeteria.