At stake in this election:

• 550 seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi)

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Ahmet Necdet SEZER
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Bulent ECEVIT
• Assembly: Turkey has a unicameral Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi) with 550 seats.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected by the National Assembly to serve a 7-year term.
• In the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (Turkiye Buyuk Millet Meclisi) 550 members are elected by popular vote to serve 5-year terms.

Main parties in the electoral race:

• Party: Justice and Development Party (AK)
  • Leader: Recep Tayyip ERDOGAN
  • Seats won in last election: N/A
  • Seats won in this election: 363
• Party: Republican People's Party (CHP)
  • Leader: Deniz BAYKAL
  • Seats won in last election: 0
  • Seats won in this election: 178
• Party: Democratic Left Party (DSP)
  • Leader: Bulent ECEVIT
  • Seats won in last election: 136
  • Seats won in this election: 0
• Party: Motherland Party (AnaP)
  • Leader: Mesut YILMAZ
  • Seats won in last election: 86
  • Seats won in this election: 0
• Party: Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
  • Leader: Devlet BAHÇELI
  • Seats won in last election: 129
  • Seats won in this election: 0
• Party: True Path Party
  • Leader: Tansu ÇILLER
  • Seats won in last election: 85
  • Seats won in this election: 0

Population and registered voters:

• Population: 67,308,928 (July 2002 est.)
• Registered Voters: 41,333,105 (2002)

Gender Data:

·         Female Population: 33,092,691 (2002)

·         Is Turkey a signatory to CEDAW: No

·         Has Turkey ratified CEDAW: Yes, accession (20 December 1985)

·         Gender Quota: No (there are some political parties that have adopted voluntary gender quotas)

·         Female candidates in this election: Yes

·         Number of Female Parliamentarians: 24 (following the 2002 elections)

·         Human Development Index Position: 72 (2014)

·         Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Low (2014)

Disability Data:

·         Is Turkey a signatory to CRPD: Yes (30 March 2007)

·         Has Turkey ratified CRPD: Yes (28 September 2009)

·         Population with a disability: 10,096,339 (est.)