Is Resignation Required for Vice-Presidents and Ministers Before Running in Turkish Parliamentary, Presidential, and Local Elections?
Volkan AslanAccording to Turkish law, public servants must resign if they wish to run for election. However, no clear regulation states that vice-presidents and ministers, who are candidates in forthcoming parliamentary, presidential, or local elections, must resign from their offices. The Supreme Election Council (SEC) has, for many years, accepted that ministers do not need to resign from their office to become candidates before elections since they are not considered “public servants in the strict sense.” However, after the concurrent parliamentary and presidential elections in 2023, the legitimacy of these decisions began to be questionable. Although they were elected as members of parliament, the vice-president and ministers continued to serve in their executive capacities while the presidential election went to a second round. This situation clearly contradicts the Turkish Constitution, which stipulates that a single individual cannot simultaneously hold egislative and executive branches. Therefore, it is concluded that despite the decisions of the SEC, the vicepresidents and ministers who are candidates in parliamentary elections should resign from their offices before the elections. In accordance with the separation between the central government and local governments as foreseen by the Constitution and other relevant regulations, the vice-president and ministers also have to resign from their offices if they want to run in local elections. On the other hand, incumbent vice-presidents and ministers who want to run for presidential election need not resign from their offices.
Milletvekili, Cumhurbaşkanı veya Mahalli İdareler Seçiminde Aday Olan Cumhurbaşkanı Yardımcısı ve Bakanların Görevden Çekilmesi Gerekir mi?
Volkan AslanMilletvekili, Cumhurbaşkanı veya mahalli idareler seçiminde aday olan Cumhurbaşkanı yardımcısı ve bakanların görevden çekilmesi gerektiğine ilişkin açık bir düzenleme mevzuatımızda bulunmamaktadır. Yüksek Seçim Kurulu (YSK) da uzun yıllardır verdiği kararlarında dar anlamda kamu görevlisi olmadıklarından bahisle sayılan kimselerin seçimler öncesinde aday olabilmek için görevden çekilmek zorunda olmadıklarını kabul etmektedir. Ancak 2023 yılında gerçekleştirilen Cumhurbaşkanı seçiminin ikinci tura kalmasının ardından söz konusu kararların yerindeliği sorgulanmaya başlanmıştır. Zira milletvekili seçilmelerine rağmen görevdeki Cumhurbaşkanı yardımcısı ve bakanlar Cumhurbaşkanlığı seçiminin ikinci tura kalması sebebiyle Cumhurbaşkanı yardımcılığı ve bakanlık görevlerine devam etmişlerdir. Bu durum ise iki görevin aynı kişide birleşemeyeceğini öngören Anayasamıza açıkça aykırılık oluşturmuştur. Çalışmada da YSK kararlarına rağmen parlamento seçiminde aday olan Cumhurbaşkanı yardımcısı ve bakanların görevden çekilmesi gerektiği sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. Mahalli idare seçimlerinde ise Anayasa uyarınca merkezi yönetim ile mahalli idareler arasında olması gereken ayrılık ve konuya ilişkin diğer düzenlemeler gereğince, aday olan Cumhurbaşkanı yardımcısı ve bakanların görevden çekilmesi gerekmektedir. Bu çerçevede YSK tarafından verilen güncel kararların mahalli idareler seçimlerinde emsal teşkil etmesi mümkün değildir. Cumhurbaşkanı seçiminde aday olan görevdeki Cumhurbaşkanı yardımcısı ve bakanların ise görevlerinden çekilmesi gerekmemektedir. Çalışmanın genelinde konuya ilişkin açık düzenlemelere yer verilmesi önerildiği gibi YSK’nın görevden çekilmesi gerekenleri belirlerken her seçim türü ile ilgili ayrı değerlendirme yapması ve görevden çekilmeye ilişkin doğrudan düzenlemenin yanı sıra Anayasa’nın diğer maddelerini de dikkate alması gerektiği savunulmaktadır.
According to longstanding decisions by the Supreme Election Council (SEC), incumbent vice-presidents and ministers are not required to resign from their posts if they become candidates in parliamentary, presidential, or local elections. Before the 2017 constitutional amendments, the Turkish Constitution had a special regulation regarding this matter, but it was abolished with those amendments. Currently, the Constitution contains a general regulation on the eligibility to be a deputy, stating that public servants must resign if they wish to run in elections. This regulation also specifies several professions whose members cannot run for election without resigning: judges and prosecutors, members of the high courts, lecturers at higher education institutions, members of the Council of Higher Education, members of the armed forces, public servants, and other public employees not regarded as private workers due to the nature of their duties. These individuals cannot stand for election or be eligible to serve as deputy unless they resign their positions.
Previously, Article 114 of the Constitution, titled “Interim Council of Ministers in Elections,” stipulated that the ministers of justice, internal affairs, and transportation would resign before general elections for the Turkish Grand National Assembly. However, this obligation was not contingent on whether ministers would be candidates in the upcoming elections. Ministers who did not intend to run in the next parliamentary elections were also required to resign under this article. For many years, the SEC justified its decisions based on this regulation, asserting that it was unnecessary for ministers not listed in the regulation to resign before elections. Despite the abolition of this regulation in the 2017 amendments and significant changes to the Constitution, particularly the shift from a parliamentary to a presidential system, the SEC continued to adopt a similar approach in its decisions in 2023. The SEC’s rationale, both historically and presently, is grounded in the belief that ministers should not resign to become candidates since they are not considered “public servants in the strict sense.”
However, following the concurrent parliamentary and presidential elections in 2023, the legitimacy of these decisions came into question. The vice-president and ministers serving in executive roles, who were also elected as members of parliament, continued holding their positions as the presidential election advanced to a second round due to a lack of absolute majority. This situation directly contradicts the Turkish Constitution, which prohibits individuals from simultaneously holding legislative and executive branches. Consequently, it can be argued that the legitimacy of the SEC’s decisions has been undermined, necessitating the resignation of vicepresidents and ministers who are parliamentary candidates before elections.
There is no explicit regulation in Turkish law requiring vice-presidents and ministers who intend to run in local elections to resign from their duties. However, distinctions exist between rules for local and parliamentary elections. Accepting that vice-presidents and ministers need not resign from office for local elections may pose challenges regarding ministry powers over local governments, as stipulated in the Turkish Constitution and relevant legislation. Given that central government officials possess significant powers that can influence local governments, similar to parliamentary elections, it is advisable for vice-presidents and ministers running for local government positions to resign. Conversely, there is no such requirement for presidential candidates.
Although it is suggested that clear regulations on the subject should be included in Turkish law, it is also argued that the SEC should make a separate assessment for each type of election when determining who needs to resign from office. The SEC should also consider other constitutional regulations in addition to direct regulations on resignations from office. In this regard, the article also questions the sole reliance on the resignation regulation in the Constitution when determining whether vicepresidents and ministers are obligated to resign. It argues that the strict definition of “public servant” should not be the sole factor in this determination.
