THE DEMOCRAT PARTY’S RISE TO POWER ACCORDING TO THE PARTY INSPECTORS’ REPORTS OF THE REPUBLICAN PEOPLE'S PARTY

Abstract

The Democratic Party (DP), which was founded by a group of deputies from the Republican People's Party (CHP) under present circumstances of the Second World War, won a landslide victory with great support from Turkish people. In the 1950 elections sit was witnessed for the first time that the political power inspectors’ changed hands with an election.

This study is based on party inspectors’ reports, which were prepared by the party inspection body of the Republican People's Party founded in 1923 and became more effective after new arrangements in Party Regulations in 1935. The party inspectors, who were mostly members of parliament, must work at least six months in their own districts and must supervise party activities. Inspectors sent reports that they prepared to the party headquarters twice a year. These reports included detailed and comprehensive information on party activities and activities of community centres in the districts they represented; economic and social problems, political disputes, requests, needs and complaints of people.

This study is based on the party inspectors’ reports prepared between 1946–1950 and how the Republican People's Party organization evaluated and interpreted the Democratic Party’s political activities, organizational structure, communication with society, electioneering, criticism against the Republican People's Party will be examined. By stressing the political disputes emerged in towns and districts, various developments before and after the election on May 14, 1950, information on how the Democratic Party was received by the Republican People's Party and Turkish public will be given. The aim of this study is to contribute to the historical research studies on the Democratic Party, by looking at the Democratic Party’s rise to the power and developments during this period through the lens of the Republican People's Party.

There is no study that would require the approval of the Ethical Committee in this article.