367 crisis in Turkish politics: An evaluation through the parliament minutes

The Presidency is an important position in states and government systems. For this reason, it is seen that political crises arise during the presidential election processes. The fact that political and bureaucratic staff have different ideas about state administration and the strategic and tactical behaviors of political parties constitute the main reason for the crises experienced. In the case of Türkiye, the fact that the president is also the commander-in-chief involves the army in the process and makes it one of the parties to the crisis. During the presidential election process, the discourses and policies put forward by political parties and leaders within the Parliament due to differences of political views, political concerns or political interests deepen the crisis. Political crises go beyond the parliament and affect every aspect of life, from the judiciary to the media, from the economy to social life. In the 11th Presidential election held in 2007, there was a political crisis that started with the discussions on the eligibility criteria and continued with the developments in the candidate selection process. This political crisis, known as the "367 Crisis" in Turkish politics, was named after the quorum of the Parliament. In this process, the society with the Republic Rallies, the army with the E-Memorandum, and the judiciary with the Constitutional Court annulling the election have become parties to the political crisis. Political leaders and parties have no choice but to return to the nation in the face of this process, which has essentially turned into a state crisis. This crisis gave rise to the 2007 referendum, which envisaged the public electing the president, and in this respect, constituted the starting point of the change in the government system in Turkey. This study deals with the 367 Crisis in Turkish politics. The aim of the study is to evaluate the reasons, actors, process and effects of the crisis in the 11th Presidential election process in the light of the Parliament minutes. The crisis becomes more understandable by examining and evaluating the Parliament minutes, which are seen as the primary source. This study was conducted using the qualitative research method. By scanning the literature, books, scientific studies, written communication tools and minutes were examined.