The Government of Turkey () is the national government of Turkey. It is governed as a unitary state under a presidential representative democracy and a constitutional republic within a pluriform multi-party system. The term government can mean either the collective set of institutions (the executive, legislative, and judicial branches) or specifically the Cabinet (the executive).
Naming
The republic is named "Turkey" () or "Republic of Turkey" () with its full name. No other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which it is a party. The terms "Government of Turkey" or "Turkish Government" are often used in official documents to represent the national government as distinct from the local entities. Because the seat of government is in Ankara, "Ankara" is commonly used as a metonym for the central government.
Constitution
According to the Constitution, Turkey's government system is based on a separation of powers. The Constitution states that the legislative power is vested in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (art. 7), that the executive power is carried out by the President of Turkey (art. 8) and that the judicial power is exercised by independent and impartial courts (art. 9) It also states that parliamentary elections and presidential elections shall be held every five years (art. 77). The Parliament accepts the law proposals prepared by the deputies (88 art.) The President promulgates the laws adopted by the Parliament (art. 89). The President may veto some of the provisions of the law and return it to the Parliament for reconsideration, but the approval of the President is not needed if the majority of the Parliament rejects the reconsideration of the law or provisions of the law (art. 89). The President can appeal to the Constitutional Court for the annulment of all or certain provisions of laws on the grounds that they are unconstitutional in form or in content (art. 104/7). In such a case, the decision of the Constitutional Court is final (art. 153).
Branches of government
Legislative branch
Legislative power is vested in a single-chamber parliament (the Grand National Assembly of Turkey) with 600 members. The members are elected for a period of five years according to the D'Hondt method. Every citizen over the age of eighteen is eligible to be a deputy. Members of the Grand National Assembly can not hold office in state departments and other public corporate bodies and their subsidiaries.
Members of parliament can sit on behalf of a political party or as an independent parliamentarian. They are also delegates for the province in which they are elected. A simple majority is required to amend a law and a three-fifth majority to amend the constitution. Bills can be introduced by any member of parliament.
The duties and powers of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey are to enact, amend, and repeal laws; to debate and adopt the budget bills and final accounts bills; to decide to declare war; to approve the ratification of international treaties, to decide with the majority of three-fifths of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to proclaim amnesty and pardon; and to exercise the powers and carry out the duties envisaged in the other articles of the Constitution.
Executive branch
The executive power in the Turkish government is vested in the president of Turkey, where power is often delegated to the Cabinet members and other officials.
President
The executive branch, under Part III of the Constitution, consists of the president and those to whom the president's powers are delegated. The president is both the head of state and government, as well as the military commander-in-chief. The president, according to the Constitution, must "ensure the implementation of the Constitution", and "ensure orderly and harmonious functioning of the organs of the State".
The president may sign legislation passed by the Parliament into law or may veto it, preventing it from becoming law unless a simple majority in the Parliament vote to override the veto. On the approval of the President, laws are published in the Official Gazette and they come into force by virtue of that publication unless a specific effective date is stipulated within the law itself. The President has also the ability to introduce pieces of legislation by issuing presidential decrees. However, laws introduced by the Parliament prevail over the presidential decrees with respect to the same subject in the hierarchy of norms. Furthermore, fundamental and personal rights or duties and political rights or duties cannot be regulated under presidential decrees.