 |
|
|
| Territory:
|
779,452
sq. km |
| Population: |
65,599,000 heads |
| Density
of Population: |
83.1 heads/sq. km |
| Capital
city: |
Ankara |
| Form
of government: |
Republic |
|
Administrative scheme: |
67
territories (vilayet) |
| Official
language: |
Turkish |
| Other
languages: |
Kurdish,
Arabic |
| Nationalities: |
Turkish
(90 %), Kurdish (7 %), Arabic (1 %), Other (2 %) |
|
The
Turkish Republic is a democratic, secular and social constitutional
state.
Elections are conducted on the principles of equality, privacy,
single-stage, general vote, open count and listing under the
control and administration of Judges and the Court. As a rule
each and every Turkish citizen over 18 is eligible to vote,
and each and every Turkish citizen older than 30 is eligible
to be elected a member of the parliament.
Election laws are based on the principles of justice in representation
and stability in administration. Parliamentary elections are
held every 5 years. The Parliament has the right to decide
to hold elections earlier than this period. Individuals not
completing elementary education, found guilty of a crime with
a sentence of more than one year's imprisonment or not having
completed their military service are not eligible to be candidates
for the Parliament. All the matters related to the administration
of elections are arranged and controlled by the Higher Council
of Elections which comprises of High Court Justices.
Political parties receiving less than 10% of the valid public
votes do not qualify for sending representatives to the Parliament.
The
550 current members of the Turkish Parliament were elected
at the last elections held on April 18, 1999 according to
the above-mentioned rules.
The Turkish President is elected by the Turkish Parliament
from Turkish citizens or Members of Parliament who are older
than 40 and hold college degrees. Presidential elections are
held every 7 years. The President may not rerun for a second
term.
|
