Mardin senators in the Republican Senate (1961-1980)

After the coup d'état of May 27, 1960, the National Unity Committee took control of the country and the constitution was abolished. The new constitution prepared by the Constituent Assembly was approved by a 61.5% "yes" vote in the July 9, 1961 referendum with a 61.5% yes vote. With the new constitution, the Single Chamber System in place from 1920 to 1960 came to an end, and a Bicameral System consisting of the Senate of the Republic and the National Assembly was adopted. As a result of the 1961 Constitution, members of the newly formed Senate of the Republic were appointed through three different methods: "Permanent Members," "Members Appointed by the President," and "Members Elected by General Election." This study examines the Senators from Mardin who were Elected by General Election. A total of 7 senators were elected from Mardin between 1961 and 1980. The study sought to determine what kind of work the Mardin senators did on behalf of both regional and national issues; what kind of activities they engaged in, such as proposals, motions, speaking, submitting questions, etc. It was observed that Mardin senators, particularly Abdülkerim Saraçoğlu, Mehmet Kemal Oral, and Mehmet Ali Arıkan, were extremely active, while no senate activity was identified for İsmet Muharremoğulları. The Republican Senate Minutes Journal was the main source for the study, and copyrighted and research works were also used. The document screening technique, one of the qualitative research methods, was used in the study. Keywords: Mardin, Republican Senate, Bicameral System, Abdülkerim Saraçoğlu, Mehmet Ali Arıkan.