Politics of Turkey
Turkey is a presidential republic with a multi-party system.
The politics of Turkey operate within the framework of a constitutional republic and presidential system, with a separation of powers among executive, legislative, and judicial branches.
- Government type
- Presidential representative democracy and constitutional republic
- Suffrage
- Universal for citizens 18 years and older
- Election threshold
- 7%
- Head of state and government
- President
Lore & Background
Turkey's political system is based on a separation of powers. Executive power is exercised by the Council of Ministers, appointed and headed by the President, who serves as head of state and head of government. Legislative power is vested in the unicameral Grand National Assembly, which makes law, debates budgets, declares war, approves treaties, and can impeach government members. The judiciary is independent, with the Constitutional Court, Court of Cassation, Council of State, and Court of Jurisdictional Disputes as supreme courts.
Reader's Guide
This shift abolished the Prime Minister position and allowed the president to issue decrees, veto legislation, and appoint the Cabinet. The political landscape is highly centralized, with a 7% election threshold for parliamentary representation. Major parties span the spectrum from center-right (e.g., Justice and Development Party) to center-left (e.g., Republican People's Party), with far-right nationalist and Islamist parties also influential. The legacy includes ongoing debates over Kemalist principles, such as laicism and nationalism, and challenges in implementing European Charter of Local Self-Government standards.
More in Country Politics 1-23
Spotted an error? Know more?
This is a living reference — every entry is fact-audited, and reader corrections feed straight into our audit queue. Suggest an edit · See this site's audit record