Capital:
name: Ankara
geographic coordinates: 39 56 N, 32 52 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during
Standard Time)
daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last
Sunday in October
Administrative divisions:
81 provinces (iller, singular - il); Adana, Adiyaman,
Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan,
Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir, Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol,
Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri, Corum, Denizli,
Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir,
Gaziantep, Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Icel (Mersin), Igdir,
Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir, Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars,
Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli, Kirsehir, Kocaeli,
Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir,
Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt,
Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas, Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon, Tunceli, Usak, Van,
Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
Independence:
29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
National holiday:
Republic Day, 29 October (1923)
Constitution:
7 November 1982
Legal system:
civil law system derived from various European continental legal
systems; note - member of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR),
although Turkey claims limited derogations on the ratified European
Convention on Human Rights
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER (since 16 May 2000)
head of government: Prime Minister Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN (14 March
2003)
cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the
nomination of the prime minister
elections: president elected by the National Assembly for a single
seven-year term; election last held 5 May 2000 (next to be held May
2007); prime minister appointed by the president from among members
of parliament
election results: Ahmed Necdet SEZER elected president on the third
ballot; percent of National Assembly vote - 60%
note: president must have a two-thirds majority of the National
Assembly on the first two ballots and a simple majority on the third
ballot
Legislative branch:
unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey or Turkiye Buyuk
Millet Meclisi (550 seats; members are elected by popular vote to
serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 November 2002 (next is scheduled to be held 4
November 2007); note - a special rerun of the General Election in
the province of Siirt on 9 March 2003 resulted in the election of
Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN to a seat in parliament, a prerequisite for
becoming prime minister, on 14 March 2003
election results: percent of vote by party - AKP 34.3%, CHP 19.4%,
DYP 9.6%, MHP 8.3%, GP 7.3%, Anavatan 5.1%, DSP 1.1%, and other;
seats by party - AKP 363, CHP 178, independents 9; note - parties
surpassing the 10% threshold are entitled to parliamentary seats;
seats by party as of 1 December 2006 - AKP 354, CHP 154, Anavatan
21, DYP 4, SHP 1, HYP 1, GP 1, independents 9, vacant 5
Judicial branch:
Constitutional Court; High Court of Appeals (Yargitay); Council of
State (Danistay); Court of Accounts (Sayistay); Military High Court
of Appeals; Military High Administrative Court