Changes

==Government and Political Conditions==

==Government and Political Conditions==

[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

[[File:Turkish Parliament in Ankara.jpg|thumb|300px|The Parliament in Ankara.]]

The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as democratic, secular, and parliamentary. The presidency's powers are not precisely defined in practice, and the president's influence depends on his personality and political weight. The president and the Council of Ministers led by the prime minister share executive powers. The president, who has broad powers of appointment and supervision, is chosen by Parliament for a term of 7 years and cannot be reelected. A constitutional amendment recommending the direct election by the people of the president to a 5-year term, with the possibility of serving a second 5-year term, may be submitted to a popular referendum in 2007. The prime minister administers the government. The prime minister and the Council of Ministers are responsible to Parliament.  

The 1982 Constitution, drafted by the military in the wake of a 1980 military coup, proclaims Turkey's system of government as [[democracy|democratic]], [[secular state|secular]], and [[Parliamentary Republic|parliamentary]]. A [[Presidential Government|presidential system]] was adopted with a referendum in 2017; the new system came into effect with the presidential election in 2018 and gives the President complete control of the executive, including the power to issue decrees, appoint his own cabinet, draw up the budget, dissolve parliament by calling early elections, and pack the bureaucracy and the courts with political appointees. The office of Prime Minister has been abolished and its powers (together with those of the Cabinet) have been transferred to the President, who is the head of state and is elected for a five-year term by direct elections. [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the first president elected by direct voting. Turkey's constitution governs the legal framework of the country. It sets out the main principles of government and establishes Turkey as a unitary centralized state.

The 550-member Parliament carries out legislative functions. Election is by proportional representation. To participate in the distribution of seats, a party must obtain at least 10% of the votes cast at the national level as well as a percentage of votes in the contested district according to a complex formula. The president enacts laws passed by Parliament within 15 days. With the exception of budgetary laws, the president may return a law to the Parliament for reconsideration. If Parliament reenacts the law, it is binding, although the president may then apply to the Constitutional Court for a reversal of the law. Constitutional amendments pass with a 60% vote, but require a popular referendum unless passed with a two-thirds majority; the president may also submit amendments passed with a two-thirds majority to a popular referendum.  

Executive power is exercized by the President, while the legislative power is vested in the unicameral parliament, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The judiciary is nominally independent from the executive and the legislature, but the constitutional changes that came into effect with the referendums in 2007, 2010 and 2017 gave larger powers to the President and the ruling party for appointing or dismissing judges and prosecutors. The Constitutional Court is charged with ruling on the conformity of laws and decrees with the constitution. The Council of State is the tribunal of last resort for administrative cases, and the High Court of Appeals for all others.

The judiciary is declared to be independent, but the need for judicial reform and confirmation of its independence are subjects of open debate. Internationally recognized human rights, including freedom of thought, expression, assembly, and travel, are officially enshrined in the Constitution but have at times been narrowly interpreted, can be limited in times of emergency and cannot be used to violate what the Constitution and the courts consider the integrity of the state or to impose a system of government based on religion, ethnicity, or the domination of one social class. The Constitution prohibits torture or ill treatment; the current government has focused on ensuring that practice matches principle. Labor rights, including the right to strike, are recognized in the Constitution but can be restricted.  

Universal suffrage for both sexes has been applied throughout Turkey since 1933 and before most countries, and every Turkish citizen who has turned 18 years of age has the right to vote. There are 600 members of parliament who are elected for a five-year term by a party-list proportional representation system from 85 electoral districts. The Constitutional Court can strip the public financing of political parties that it deems anti-secular or separatist, or ban their existence altogether. The electoral threshold is 10 percent of the votes.

The 1982 Constitution provides for a system of State Security Courts to deal with offenses against the integrity of the state. The high court system includes a Constitutional Court responsible for judicial review of legislation, a Court of Cassation (or Supreme Court of Appeals), a Council of State serving as the high administrative and appeals court, a Court of Accounts, and a Military Court of Appeals. The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors, appointed by the president, supervises the judiciary.  

Supporters of [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Atatürk]]'s reforms are called Kemalists, as distinguished from [[Islamism|Islamists]], representing the two diverging views regarding the role of religion in legislation, education and public life. The Kemalist view supports a form of democracy with a laicist [[constitution]] and Westernized secular lifestyle, while maintaining the necessity of state intervention in the economy, education and other public services. Since its foundation as a republic in 1923, Turkey has developed a strong tradition of secularism. However, since the 1980s, issues such as income inequality and class distinction have given rise to Islamic [[populism]], a movement that supports a larger role for religion in government policies, and in theory supports obligation to authority, communal solidarity and social justice; though what that entails in practice is often contested. Turkey under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the [[Justice and Development Party]] has been described as becoming increasingly authoritarian. Prior to the constitutional referendum in 2017 the Council of Europe saw Turkey drifting towards an autocracy, warning of a "dramatic regression of its democratic order". Many elements in the constitutional reform package that was approved with the referendum in 2017 have increased concerns in the European Union regarding democracy and the separation of powers in Turkey.

In the November 2002 election of Turkey's 58th government, the [[Justice and Development Party]] (AKP) captured 34.3% of the total votes, making Abdullah Gül Prime Minister, followed by the Republican People's Party (CHP) with 19.39% of the vote, led by Deniz Baykal. A special General Election was held again in the province of Siirt in March 2003, resulting in the election of AKP's chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to a seat in parliament, allowing him to become prime minister. AKP and CHP were the only parties to surpass the 10% threshold required to hold seats in parliament. The elections resulted in 363 of the 550 seats going to AKP, 178 seats to CHP, and 9 as independent. Due to a reshuffle in party affiliation, AKP holds 367 seats, CHP holds 175 seats, five are independent, and three joined the True Path Party (DYP). In March 2004 nationwide local elections, AKP won 57 of 81 provincial capital municipalities and, with 41.8% of the votes for provincial council seats, consolidated its hold on power.

As of 2017 the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index rates Turkey at 4.88 (on a 0–10 scale), classifying Turkey as a Hybrid Regime. In 2018, Freedom House rated Turkey at 32 (on a 0–100 scale) as Not Free.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly was to have elected in May 2007 a new president to succeed President Sezer on June 16. Opposition parties led a challenge to the electoral procedures, which resulted in a series of proposed constitutional amendments and the call for early general elections on July 22. The new parliament, which was sworn in on July 28, includes 341 AKP members, 98 CHP members, 70 Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) members, 20 Democratic Society Party (DTP) members, 13 Democratic Left Party (DSP) members, and 7 independents. Following the election, Sezer reappointed Erdoğan as PM and then-Foreign Minister Gül declared his presidential candidacy. The parliament elected Gül in the third round of voting on August 28. President Gül approved Erdoğan's proposed cabinet on August 30, and the new government received a vote of confidence on September 5.

 

Since 2014 [[Recep Tayyip Erdoğan]] is the president of Turkey.

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem  

Human-right abuses, especially against [[Christians]] remains a problem  

===Principal Government Officials===

===Principal Government Officials===

*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

*President of the Republic — Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

*Prime Minister — Binali Yıldırım

*Vice President of the Republic — Fuat Oktay

*Minister of Foreign Affairs — Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu

===Foreign Relations===

===Foreign Relations===