Abstract
THE TRADITION OF AMENDING ELECTION LAWS IN TURKEY AND THE EFFECT OF ARTICLE 67 OF THE CONSTITUTION ON THIS TRADITION
Elections are the heart of the democratic order. As a matter of fact, elections are essential elements in all definitions and models of democracy. The functions of elections which ensures representation and determines the political power undertaken by elections cause political parties and political power to pay special attention to the phenomenon of elections. As a matter of fact, this interest is the main reason why election laws and the election system are constantly on the political debate and subject to change. Since the transition to multi-party democratic life in the Republican era in Türkiye, election laws and the election system have been be used as a tool in the design of politics. As a matter of fact, the frequency of changes made in election laws before the election is the result of the governments' desire to design politics through election laws. In this study, with the start of multi-party democratic elections in 1946, the changes made in the election laws that affected the election system will be examined and a picture of the tradition of making changes in the election laws for political reasons in Turkey will be drawn. The effect of the "1-year period" requirement for election laws introduced by the 2001 amendments to the Constitution in practice and its impact on this tradition will be discussed. As a matter of fact, in the context of this discussion, suggestions will be made regarding the current form of the Constitutional provision.
Keywords
Electoral Laws, Electoral Heresthetics, Electoral System, Electoral Manipulation
