Political party freedom according to the 1982 Constitution

The free use of the rights and freedom of political parties, which the 1982 Constitution determines as one of the indispensable elements of democracy, is of great importance. The importance of freedom has been accepted not only by the 1982 Constitution but also by the international doctrine. The source of the importance of political parties for democracies is the functions they fulfill. The proper performance of these functions, which have an indispensable place for democracy, is directly related to the guarantee of political party freedom in the constitutional order. Naturally, just like other rights and freedom, rights and freedom in the political sphere are not unlimited. Accordingly, the freedom of political parties may be restricted in some cases. As a matter of fact, the 1982 Constitution determined the limits of political party freedom by regulating the principles to be followed by political parties and identified in what cases they can be closed in articles 68 and 69. The sanction stipulated by the 1982 Constitution for political parties is not only about to dissolve political parties. According to the 1982 Constitution, the Constitutional Court may also decide on political parties to be deprived of state aid partially or completely, instead of permanently closing it. The issue that the Constitutional Court will pay attention to in determining the sanctions to be imposed on political parties is the severity of the actions subject to the case. The Constitutional Court has banned many political parties after the 1982 Constitution. Political party representatives who think that they are victims of some of these decisions have applied to the European Court of Human Rights. The European Court of Human Rights did not approve the closure decisions of the Constitutional Court, except for the closure of Refah Party. Therefore in this study, political parties, political party freedom and the understanding of political party freedom of the 1982 Constitution are discussed. Then, extent of this freedom during the 1982 Constitutional period is argued. In addition to these topics, election systems and financial control of political parties, which are thought to have an impact on the freedom of political parties, are emphasized. Keywords: Political Parties, Political Party Freedom, 1982 Constitution, Political Party Prohibition, Closure of Political Parties