No women MPs will be elected from 33 provinces in Turkish elections

The Women’s Platform for Equality (EŞİK) has analyzed the parties' finalized candidate lists and stated that no women MPs will be elected from 33 provinces. The Green Left Party has the highest proportion of women on its list (41.54%), while the MHP has the lowest proportion (4.00%). MHP is followed by the İYİ Party (11.36%), CHP (18.18%), and AKP (19.05%).

Duvar English

The Women's Platform for Equality (EŞİK) has argued that 33 provinces will not be represented by women in the Parliament no matter what is the election’s results by analysing the finalized parliamentary lists.

The platform examined the candidates of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), nationalist opposition Good Party (İYİ), far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), leftist Workers' Party of Turkey (TİP) and Green Left Party (YSP) and stated that “the Parliament will again be far from equal representation” after the May 14 elections.

“The fact that there are many women candidacy nomination indeed refute the claim that women do not want to enter politics. However, many parties included very few women in their finalized lists, and most of them are placed in unelectable ranks in order to artificially increase the proportion of women in the lists," the platform added. 

According to platform, 18 out of 20 provinces, which have never had a female deputy in the history of the republic, will not have a female deputy in this election either.

The MHP has no female candidate in 40 provinces, the AKP in 34, the İYİ in 22 and the CHP in 21. The platform expects that 117 women MPs will enter the Parliament and the rate of women MPs will be 19.50 percent. There are 600 seats in the Turkish parliament. 

The TİP and the Green Left Party have allocated the highest number of places to women in the first rankings. The Green Left Party has the highest proportion of women on the lists (41.54%), while the MHP has the lowest proportion (4.00%). MHP is followed by the IYI (11.36%), CHP (18.18%) and AKP (19.05%).

Green Left Party has adopted a “zipper model” and prepared its ranked list to consist of one female and one male candidate in order. 

According to Women in Politics Map of the United Nations Women, Turkey ranks 132nd among 186 countries in 2023 for the proportion of women in the parliament with 17.4%. There were 100 women deputies in total. 

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Topics Turkey 2023 elections Turkey 2023 presidential election Turkish Parliament Women MPs The Women's Platform for Equality