Political Situatıon In Kırklareli Between 1946 And 1950 General Elections

At the end of World War II, some of the demands Russia presented to Turkey in efforts to advance in Europe caused state administrators to take immediate action. Turkish administrators who wanted to cooperate with the Western states that are run under the multi-party system gave the signals of transition to multi-party life in the country by revising themselves. The disputes within the Republican People's Party (CHP), the sole party in the period, also emerged during this period, and those who left the CHP took their place in the political scene by establishing the Democrat Party (DP). In addition to the deterioration of the country's economy at the end of the war, increasing disputes within the ruling party constituted a turning point in the preferences of the people. One of the settlements where the preferences of the people changed was Kırklareli. The Republican People's Party won the general elections in 1946 with a great margin. However, the unrest and the activities of other parties in the provincial organization in the following days caused this situation to reverse. Most of the people started to see the Democrat Party as a savior. Under these circumstances, the parliamentary elections in 1950 resulted in a big surprise. At the end of the election, no candidate of the CHP could be elected as a deputy in Kırklareli. All DP candidates, on the other hand, were elected deputies. This situation that was specific to Kırklareli, took place throughout Turkey in almost the same manner. In our study, the struggles of political parties in the general elections held in Kırklareli between 1946 and 1950 and the political situation in the CHP Kırklareli provincial organization were examined. The documents in the Prime Ministry State Archive, newspapers from the period and other printed sources were utilized in this the process of this study.

Keywords

Kırklareli, The Republican People's Party, The Democrat Party, Election, Provincial Organization.