General elections were held in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

in 1919 and were the last official elections held in the Empire.Hasan Kayalı (1995
"Elections and the Electoral Process in the Ottoman Empire, 1876-1919"
''International Journal of Middle East Studies'', Vol. 27, No. 3, pp 265–286 Due to the dearth of political parties, the elections were dominated by the

Association for the Defense of the Rights of Anatolia and Rumelia Associations for Defence of National Rights ( tr, Müdâfaa-i hukuk cemiyetleri) were regional resistance organisations established in the Ottoman Empire between 1918–1919. They would eventually unite into the Association for the Defence of Rights ...

( tr, Anadolu ve Rumeli Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti), which consisted of nationalist local groups protesting against the Allied occupation of Turkey.

Background

Called on 22 October 1919 under the

Amasya Protocol Amasya Protocol (''Amasya Görüşmeleri'') was a memorandum of understanding signed on 22 October 1919 in Amasya, Turkey between the Ottoman imperial government in Istanbul and the Turkish revolutionaries (the Turkish National Movement) aimed at ...

agreement between the Ottoman government and the

Turkish National Movement The Turkish National Movement ( tr, Türk Ulusal Hareketi) encompasses the political and military activities of the Turkish revolutionaries that resulted in the creation and shaping of the modern Republic of Turkey, as a consequence of the defe ...

in Ankara, the elections followed the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and the defeat of the Empire. The disbanding of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) led to the creation of several parties previously banned or repressed under the CUP regime, including the reformation of the

Freedom and Accord Party The Freedom and Accord Party ( ota, حریت و ایتلاف فرقه‌سی, Hürriyet ve İtilaf Fırkası, script=Arab), also known as the Liberal Union or the Liberal Entente, was a liberal Ottoman political party active between 1911 and 1913, ...

(Liberal Entente). However, Freedom and Accord did not take a role in the elections in the face of the Defence of Rights Association groups supporting resistance against the Allies.

Aftermath

The newly elected

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

convened in

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

(contrary to the Amasya Protocol, which had called for it to convene outside of Istanbul) on 12 January 1920. However, its approval of the ''

Misak-ı Millî Misak-ı Millî (, ''National Pact'' or ''National Oath'') is the set of six decisions made by the last term of the Ottoman Parliament. Parliament met on 28 January 1920 and published their decisions on 12 February 1920. The Ottoman Minister ...

'' (National Pact) with the Turkish revolutionaries in Ankara led to Allied forces occupying Istanbul on 16 March. Several MPs were arrested and deported. Sultan

Mehmed VI Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ota, محمد سادس ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; tr, VI. Mehmed or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as Şahbaba () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the 36th and last Sultan of the O ...

dissolved Parliament on 11 April. After this, the Allies did not allow new Ottoman governments to form in support of the Turkish revolutionaries in, which meant that Ottoman officials participating in government after 11 April 1920 were collaborating with the Allies against the

Ankara government The Government of the Grand National Assembly ( tr, Büyük Millet Meclisi Hükûmeti), self-identified as the State of Turkey () or Turkey (), commonly known as the Ankara Government (),Kemal Kirişci, Gareth M. Winrow: ''The Kurdish Question and ...

References

{{Ottoman elections, state=expanded

Elections in the Ottoman Empire 1919 in the Ottoman Empire

Background

Aftermath

See also

References