| History of the Ottoman Empire | |
|---|---|
 This article is part of a series |
|
| Rise (1302–1453) | |
| Interregnum | |
| Growth (1453–1683) | |
| Stagnation (1683–1827) | |
| Köprülü era | |
| Sultanate of Women | |
| Tulip period | |
| Decline (1826–1908) | |
| Tanzimat era | |
| 1st Constitutional Era | |
| Dissolution (1908–1922) | |
| 2nd Constitutional Era | |
| Partition | |
|
the Ottoman Empire Portal |
-Opening_of_the_first_parlement.png)
The First Constitutional Era (Ottoman Turkish: مشروطيت Turkish: Birinci Meşrutiyet) of the Ottoman Empire was the period of constitutional monarchy from the promulgation of the Kanûn-ı Esâsî (meaning "Basic Law" in Ottoman Turkish), written by members of the Young Ottomans, on 23 November 1876 until 13 February 1878. The era ended with the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Abdülhamid II.
The first constitutional era did not include any party system. At the time, the parliament was seen as the voice of the people but not as a venue for the formation of political parties and organizations. When compared to modern democracies, the Ottoman system in this period was closer to a "Constitutional Monarchy" form of government than a true representative system.
Contents |
Electoral policies
The elections for parliament were held in accordance with the provisional electoral regulations. The parliament (house) was composed in two stages. The first one was the "Meclis-i Mebusan" (literally "Chamber of Deputies" or House of Representatives), which is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, while the corresponding upper house was the "Heyet-i Ayan" (Senate). The initial selection of deputies ("Meclis-i Mebusan") was made by administrative councils in the provinces ("Meclis-i Umumi").
After the establishment of the "Meclis-i Umumi" in the provinces, the members selected the deputies from within the "Meclis-i Umumi to form the "Meclis-i Mebusan" in the capital. The Meclis-i Mebusan had 115 members and reflected the distribution of the millets in the empire. In the second elections there were 69 Muslim millet representatives and 46 representatives of other millets (Jews, Phanariotes, Armenians).
The second body was the "Heyet-i Ayan" ("Senate") and the members were selected by the sultan. The "Heyet-i Ayan" had only 26 members. It was designed to replaced the porte and the Grand Vizier become the speaker of Heyet-i Ayan.
| Representation | ||
| lower house | upper house | |
| Province | Meclis-i Umumi | |
| Capital | Meclis-i Mebusan | Heyet-i Ayan |
The two elections, one each year, happened between 1877–1878.
First term, 1877
The members' reactions to the approaching war were very strong and Abdülhamid II asked for new elections citing the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).
 |
This section requires expansion. |
Second term, 1878
The life of the second term of the parliament was counted in days as after the initial speeches by the members from Balkan vilayets Abdülhamid II closed the parliament, citing social unrest.
|
This section requires expansion. |
Significant people
Mütercim Rüşdî Paşa, Serasker Hüseyin Avni Paşa, Sadrâzam Midhat Paşa, Süleymân Paşa.
See also
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
This Ottoman Empire-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
