Since the foundation of theRepublic of Türkiye in 1923, the country held sevenreferendums on national level. In the first two referendums (1961 and1982), new Constitutions were submitted to public approval by military regimes. The remaining five referendums concerned Constitutional reforms and legislative changes proposed by civilian governments in1987,1988,2007,2010 and2017.^[1]

The processes of submission to the public vote are carried out by the election boards under the management and supervision of theSupreme Election Council.

Amendments to the constitution can be put to referendum by both the legislative branch (parliament) and the executive branch (president).

A referendum on the constitutional amendment is held on the firstSunday after the sixtieth day following the publication of the relevant amendment in theOfficial Gazette.^[2]

In conformity with the conditions set forth in the law, all Turkish citizens over eighteen years of age have theright to vote in elections and to take part in referendums. In accordance with the Law No. 298 on Basic Provisions of Elections and Electoral Registers, citizens in foreign countries can cast their votes starting twenty days before the referendum.^[3]

According to article 101 of the Constitution,presidential elections can be turned into a referendum under certain conditions. Turkey elects its presidents with atwo-round system. If one of the presidential candidates who gains the right to run for the second round is unable to participate in the election for any reason, the second round shall be conducted by substituting the vacant candidacy in conformity with the ranking in the first round. If only one candidate remains for the second round, this ballot shall be then conducted as a referendum. The presidential candidate receiving the majority of the valid votes shall be elected as president. If that candidate fails to receive the majority of the valid votes in the election, the presidential election are scheduled be renewed.^[4]

Voters tended to vote "yes" in the referendums. However, excluding the 1961 and 1982 referendums, which took place under the conditions of a military regime, two of the remaining five referendums did not result in the way the ruling political parties desired. The average rate of acceptance by the public of the proposals brought by the governments in those referendums was 52.6%.^[5]

Turkish governments have not achieved easy victories in the referendums. TheANAP governments faced undesirable results in both referendums in 1987 and 1988. The constitutional amendment, which was put to a referendum by thegovernment in 2017, received the approval of the voters by a small margin. It is noteworthy that the differences between "yes" and "no" votes were small, especially in the 1987 and 2017 referendums. Below is the overview of all the referendums.^[6]

• Elections in Turkey
• Constitution of Turkey

• Osmanbaşoğlu, Gülsen Kaya; Bekaroğlu, Edip Asaf (2019).Türkiye'de referandumlar (in Turkish). Ankara: Orion Kitabevi.ISBN 978-605-9524-51-3.

• Referendums in Turkey

• CS1 Turkish-language sources (tr)
• CS1 maint: location missing publisher
• Articles with short description
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