1989 Turkish presidential election explained

Country:Turkey
Type:presidential
Previous Election:1980 Turkish presidential election
Previous Year:1980
Election Date:31 October 1989 (third round)
Next Election:1993 Turkish presidential election
Next Year:1993
Votes For Election:450 members of the Grand National Assembly
Needed Votes:226
Turnout:63.33%
Image1:Turgut Özal as Turkish Prime Minister.jpg
Candidate1:Turgut Özal
Party1:Motherland Party (Turkey)
Electoral Vote1:263
Percentage1:94.95%
Candidate2:Fethi Çelikbaş
Party2:Motherland Party (Turkey)
Electoral Vote2:14
Percentage2:5.05%
President
Before Election:Kenan Evren
Before Party:Military
After Election:Turgut Özal
After Party:Motherland Party (Turkey)

The 1989 Turkish presidential election refers the election to choose the country's eighth president, to succeed Kenan Evren. The candidate of the governing Motherland Party (ANAP) was its leader and Prime Minister Turgut Özal. In the first and second rounds, the ruling party ANAP was unsuccessful in electing its candidate. Finally, in the third round, Turgut Özal was elected as the eighth President of Turkey.[1] He was the second civil president in Turkish history.

The parliamentary opposition, formed by the True Path Party (DYP) and the Social Democratic People's Party (SHP) claimed that the loss of popular support for ANAP in the March 1989 local elections did not give the party the democratic legitimacy to elect one of its politicians as President. Since ANAP commanded a parliamentary majority, its candidate was effectively certain to win the third round, where only a simple majority of the vote is required to win. The opposition thus boycotted the election. Fethi Çelikbaş, an ANAP Member of Parliament who stood against Özal, was the only other candidate. There were eight blank votes in the third round, which was held on October 31.

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 31 October 1989 . TBMM Tutanak Dergisi .