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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 006427 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL TU
SUBJECT: TURKEY: PRESIDENTIAL AND PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS 
SCHEDULE AND MECHANICS, 2007 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The coming year will bring presidential 
elections in the spring and parliamentary elections in the 
fall in Turkey.  The presidency is an office elected by 
parliament, and the ruling Justice and Development Party 
(AKP) has enough seats to ensure their candidate becomes 
president. The variable, and the hottest political topic in 
town, is whether Prime Minister Erdogan will stand for the 
presidency in May or lead his party through to the November 4 
parliamentary elections.  His decision will set the tone for 
the national vote; if Erdogan grabs the presidential gold 
ring, his party will have a harder fight to wage to hold its 
current parliamentary majority.  Although the presidential 
election calendar is relatively brief and straightforward, 
the national election calendar, which begins July 20 and 
culminates on election day, November 4, 2007, has yet to be 
confirmed.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
Presidential Election Mechanics 
------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U)  Under the 1982 Constitution, which regulates 
presidential elections in Turkey, the president is elected 
for a single, seven-year term by the Turkish Grand National 
Assembly (TGNA) from among its own members.  The president 
must be over 40 years of age and have completed higher 
education, or must be elected from among Turkish citizens who 
fulfill these requirements and are eligible to be deputies. 
The nomination of a candidate from outside the TGNA requires 
a written petition signed by at least one-fifth of the total 
number of members of the Assembly (110 deputies). 
 
¶3. (U)  According to the Constitution, presidential elections 
must begin 30 days before the incumbent's term ends, or 10 
days after the presidency falls vacant, and must be completed 
within 30 days of the date they begin.  Within the first 10 
days of this period, candidates must declare their 
candidacies to the Bureau of the Assembly. 
 
¶4. (U)  The candidate who receives two-thirds majority of the 
total number of seats (367 out of 550) becomes the president. 
 If no one reaches that number in the first two ballots, 
separated by a three-day interval, a third ballot will be 
held.  The candidate who receives a simple majority of votes 
of the total number of members (276 deputies) becomes 
president.  If no single candidate obtains a simple majority 
in the third ballot, a fourth ballot will be held between the 
two candidates who receive the greatest number of votes in 
the third ballot; if a president cannot be elected in the 
fourth ballot, new general parliamentary elections must be 
held immediately. 
 
------------------------------ 
Presidential Election Calendar 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (U)  President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who assumed office on 
May 16, 2000, will complete his term on May 16, 2007.  The 
legal election process for the 11th President of the Republic 
will start one month before that date (April 16) and must be 
completed by midnight, May 15, 2007.  Sezer will remain in 
office until the president-elect takes over. 
 
¶6. (U)  Starting April 16, deputies have 10 days to submit 
their candidacies to the Speaker's office.  For presidential 
candidates from outside parliament, deputies must submit to 
the Speaker's office in that same timeframe a petition signed 
by at least 110 deputies.  The election will take place in 
parliament in the remaining 20 days.  As described above, 
there can be up to four rounds of balloting, followed by new 
general elections for parliament if a president cannot be 
elected by the fourth ballot.  This will be the fourth 
presidential election based on the provisions of the 1982 
Constitution.  Turgut Ozal (1989-1993), Suleyman Demirel 
(1993-2000), and Sezer were elected with these rules.  All 
were elected in the third round. 
 
¶7. (U)  The Speaker's office will formally announce the 
election calendar when the process begins on April 16.  Based 
 
ANKARA 00006427  002 OF 003 
 
 
on the constitutional requirements, we expect the calendar to 
be as follows: 
 
-- April 16-25, 2007 : Application of candidates to the 
Speaker's office 
 
-- April 29, 2007 : First round of voting (367 votes needed) 
 
-- May 3, 2007 : Second round (367 votes needed) 
 
-- May 7, 2007 : Third round (276 votes needed) 
 
-- May 11, 2007 : Fourth round (276 votes needed; a run-off 
between the top two candidates of the third round) 
 
------------------------------ 
Parliamentary Election Outline 
------------------------------ 
 
¶8. (U)  Parliament has set November 4, 2007, as the date of 
the next election, with the opening of the election period to 
begin on July 20, 2007.  The Supreme Election Board (SEB) 
still needs to draw up the exact calendar and the parliament 
will vote on it before it becomes official.   Thetimeframe 
under discussion is two weeks longer than the usual 
three-month election period, probably due to the post-Ramadan 
holiday in mid-October.  The SEB also is considering making 
some changes of its own, including moving up the deadline for 
civil servants to resign from their positions in order to be 
eligible to run in the elections. 
 
¶9. (U)  While major parties are already organizing their 
conventions and shifting into campaign mode, the "official" 
election period is still eight months away, and will not 
start until two months after the new president is elected. 
The 2002 election calendar provides a detailed working guide 
for what sort of timeline to expect in 2007: 
 
-- August 7, 2002   Election period begins, as prescribed by 
parliament. 
 
-- August 8, 2002   Deadline for public servants to resign in 
order to run in elections. 
 
-- August 9, 2002   Deadline for political parties to inform 
the SEB about the method they will use for determining 
      candidates in each constituency. 
 
-- August 9, 2002   Voter registration lists on display 
(until August 27) for review by sub-provincial election 
            boards. 
 
-- August 27, 2002  Places of political parties on the ballot 
paper determined by drawing lots at the SEB. 
 
-- August 29, 2002  Changes in voter registration lists 
finalized. 
 
-- September 1, 2002  Interested parties hold primaries. 
 
-- September 8, 2002  Lists of candidates determined by 
primaries submitted to the SEB by the provincial 
            election boards. 
 
-- September 10, 2002 SEB approves lists of candidates 
determined by primaries. 
 
-- September 11, 2002 Deadline for political party 
headquarters to submit to SEB their candidate lists for each 
                        district. 
 
-- September 11, 2002 Deadline for independent candidates to 
apply to provincial election boards. 
 
-- September 14, 2002 Deadline for political parties to 
finalize their candidate lists. 
 
-- September 16, 2002 "Temporary List" of candidates running 
in general elections announced in the media and 
 
ANKARA 00006427  003 OF 003 
 
 
      in the Official Gazette. 
 
-- September 17, 2002  Deadline to apply to relevant 
provincial election boards for final objections to the 
            "temporary" candidate lists. 
 
-- September 21, 2002  Deadline for reporting to the SEB 
names of those who resign/withdraw their candidacy from 
            "temporary" lists. 
 
-- September 26, 2002  After evaluating the "temporary" 
lists, the SEB announces in the media and in the Official 
      Gazette a "Final List" of candidates running in general 
elections. 
 
-- October 2, 2002   Turkish citizens living abroad begin 
casting their votes at border gates and airports. 
 
-- October 27, 2002  (Official) propaganda period and 
election bans/restrictions begin; political parties will 
begin                         to use their slots on state 
radio and television. 
 
-- November 2, 2002  Election propaganda ends at 18:00 hours; 
restrictions continue from 18:00 on November 2 
until midnight on election day. 
 
-- November 3, 2002  Election Day 
 
Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ 
 
MCELDOWNEY