Elections in Bolu during the Democrative Party period

The Republic of Turkey was governed under the single-party rule of the Republican People's Party between 1923-1945. However, after the Second World War, as the multi-party system started in Turkey, the opposition to the Republican People's Party government became stronger. The first multi-party general elections were held on 21 July 1946 and Republican People's Party candidates won the elections in Bolu as well as throughout the country. The Democratic Party, which provided the support of the rural people in a short time, ended the 27-year Republican People's Party in the 1950 General Elections. In Bolu, the Democrat Party won the elections as a full list. During the ten years that the Democrat Party remained in power, it increased its vote in Bolu and attracted great attention, especially from the rural areas. The merchant segment, on the other hand, mostly continued to support the Republican People's Party. The Democratic Party won the 1954 and 1957 General Elections in Bolu and the local elections held in this period as a full list. After the transition to the multi-party system, there was an intense rivalry between the Democratic Party and the Republican People's Party in the political life of Bolu. Organizations such as the Nation Party, the Republican Nation Party, the Republican Peasant Nation Party and the Freedom Party, which were established in this process, could not show much activity in Bolu. In the 1957 General Elections throughout the country, while the Democratic Party lost a large number of votes, it continued its effectiveness in Bolu. While the disintegration started in the provincial organizations of the Democratic Party and lost votes, the Bolu Provincial Organization maintained its power until the 1960 coup. In this study, the general and local elections held in Bolu during the Democratic Party Period were examined. Based on the example of Bolu province, the local reflections of the elections held in the Democratic Party Period were evaluated. The absence of a study specific to Bolu related to the period we are researching has been decisive in the selection of this thesis topic. Archive documents, memoirs and copyrighted works, and the local and national press of the period were used as sources.