Legal framework of financing politics in Turkey

Political parties are important tools to raise different ideas in political life and for them to be represented in parliament. These institutions develop with parallel to the developments in democracy. Therefore, political parties carry importance in democracies. However, it is not solely sufficient that political parties exist in democracies so that they should also perform different political activities i.e. get organized and enter into elections. The concept of "financing politics" is emerged along with that parties need money and other monetary sources to hold political activities. Financing politics represents all of the monetary supports which are provided to political parties and candidates which compete in order to be assigned to a specific public service or to have the political power. Free and objective elector power is necessary for elections to be carried in an honest and competitive atmosphere. Therefore fair and transparent financing politics is a necessity. The purpose of this study is to determine how a fair and transparent financing politics might be achieved in our country depending on comparative legal data. In the first section of the thesis, it will be analyzed how transparency should be in direct and indirect supports that are provided by state to political parties and candidates, in donations that are provided by citizens to political parties and candidates, in classification of supports and donations to political parties and candidates, in financial auditing of political parties and candidates, and in financing politics. In the second section of the thesis, regulations in constitutions and laws, and rulings of Constitutional Court for financing politics in Turkey will be analyzed systematically according to 1982 Constitution.