Abstract :
In single party period totally six general elections were carried out which were in 1927, 1931, 1935, 1939 and 1943. In this period that suffrage indirect system had been carried out, there was only one political party named Republican People’s Party that participated in general elections. In this context firstly elections for second electorates and afterwards elections for deputies were carried out. It is remarkable for the single party period that the elections were done once in every four years without any exception. A few factors had a great role in this case because Republican People’s Party considered that the elections were one of the basic features of the republican regime, the legitimacy of the power of Republican People’s Party based on the elections and also the party wanted to establish a culture for elections in society. In this study, the 1943 election which was carried out in the period of Second World War is analysed. There are some decisive factors for choosing this subject such as the aforementioned election was the last general election of the single-party period and the electioneering methods performed in this election had some distinctive features apart from the former ones. On the other hand, this election has a specific place in political history of Turkey in respect of being the first and the one election which was carried out depending on the Deputy Election Law of 14 December 1942 which was the first election law of Turkish Republic. In the study, the election declaration of Republican People’s Party is analysed as the main electioneering material. Also the records of Republican People’s Party, the speeches of public preachers and the activities of the candidates in their election regions are considered as electioneering campaigns. Furthermore, press is another significant material for this study such as news about elections, announcements that invite electorates for voting, columns and articles which include the propaganda of Republican People’s Party. Besides the correspondences between Republican People’s Party and its organization is analysed.
Keywords :
Republican People’s Party , General Elections of 1943 , Electioneering , Single Party Period
