A CORNERSTONE IN THE DEMOCRATISATION PROCESS OF TURKEY: THE ELECTIONS OF 1950

The political practices carried out under the conditions of warfare brought by World War II caused Turkish public to become distanced from the Republican People's Party (CHP) that was in power. This situation also brought along new pursuits. New political parties such as the National Development Party (MKP), the Democratic Party (DP) and the Nation Party (MP) were established, leading to a rapid change in the Turkish political life. Following the general elections of 1946, which is considered to be controversial from many aspects, the DP got into parliament and, thereafter, it steadily increased its pressures on the political power especially for ensuring election safety. With these pressures coming to fruition, the new election law was enacted on 16 February 1950. Upon this enactment that was welcomed by the DP, the CHP government decided to hold an election, and thus an unprecedented election race began across the nation. The race participated by the CHP, the DP, the MP and the MKP led to an intense interest of the public. The election promises of these parties were also a precursor of their policies that they followed after the elections. The current study evaluates the elections of 14 May 1950 through the related issues of the newspapers Ak？am, Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, Ulus, Yeni Ulus and Zafer, and the information obtained from the Republican Archive of the Turkish Prime Ministry. The study also attempts to shed light on the election results based on the information provided by the publications of the related media outlets, the Republican Archive of the Turkish Prime Ministry, the Ay？n Tarihi Journal (a Monthly Official Almanac), Official Recordings from The Grand National Assembly Proceedings, and Official Records he Parliament Members