Political representation in the context of general elections 1950-2007: Diyarbakir case

In representative democracies, citizens do not use their political rights directly but through the representatives they have elected. This constitutes a relationship of political representation between the citizen and their deputy. Thus, political representation is one of the most important elements in terms of function of representative democracy. Because, the degree and quality to which the representation realizes also manifests the quality of the democracy in that country.Turkey introduced the multi-party democracy in 1950. In fact, Turkey had an experience of democracy that went back to the Ottoman period, and that experience had created a significant background in terms of democracy. However, despite that background, the process of democracy was problematic. There were some who could not fully digest democracy as well as those who were not accustomed to handing down of power through elections and had difficulty in accepting that. For that reason, the democratic process that started in 1950 was interrupted by a military coup only ten years after it was introduced, long before it could complete its development. That kind of interventions to democracy continued in certain forms and in certain intervals to the present time.The democratic system of Turkey, which was interrupted by interventions from time to time and also affected by other social and economical conditions, failed to develop a healthy relationship between the voter and deputy. As a result, there has always been a problem of political representation.There is more than one reason why the problem of political representation emerged and continued. The interventions the democratic system exposed, frequent closing of political parties, the election systems in effect, the soci-econimical situation that affected the people?s life, the deficiency of the ways and tools of political participation, insufficient association of the civil society, and the candidacy procces that the voters were not effective at are the reasons that affect the political representation throughout the country. Beside all these, there are also regional factors that affect the political representation. The best example of those factors is the structure dominated by aghas, sheikhs or mullahs for a long time especially in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Regions of Turkey.Since the political representation was negatively affected by, beside others, such structures as aghas, sheikhs or mullahs, it has resulted in more serious problems in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia Regions than the other parts of Turkey. The representation problem in the mentioned regions has caused an augmentation in the already existing problems.In a functional democratic system, citizens must be making their preferences with their free will and without the influence of any structure; having the opportunities to participate in politics; and represented in the best way.Keywords: Diyarbakir, democracy, political representation, election, deputy, political participation, poverty, education, civil society.