POLITICAL PARTY SYSTEM IN TURKEY AND TRANSFORMATION OF POLITICAL REGIME IN THE “NEW” TURKEY

Abstract

Since the beginning of free elections in 1950 in Turkey, the party system and political regime have showed a great transformation. The party system can be classified into periods; the two-party system in 1950-1960, the moderate multi-party system in 1961-1980, the fragmented multi-party system in 1991-2002, and the dominant party system in 2002-present. Also, the political regime was changed into Presidential System in 2017. 2002 elections especially showed that a fragmented multi-party system would disappear and political fragmentation and mobility of voters would move into a stable era. Similarly, this election proved that central/liberal parties were losing ground and conservative wave were gaining more power both in elections and the parliament.