CENTRAL ORGANIZATIONS OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN TÜRKİYE: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF PARTY STATUTES AND THE POLITICAL PARTIES LAW

political parties

Abstract

The organization of political party headquarters is a fundamental institutional factor shaping internal decision-making, executive capacity, and the limits of leadership authority. This study comparatively examines the headquarters organizations of 13 political parties represented in the 28th legislative term of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and meeting the criterion of an independent organizational identity. Based on a May 2026 data snapshot, the research adopts a qualitative approach and analyzes party statutes through document analysis and comparative content analysis. The analysis focuses on each party’s highest governing body, decision-making body between congresses, central executive body, institutional position of the chair or co-chairs, and relationship between auxiliary organizations and the headquarters. The findings demonstrate that, despite terminological differences, party headquarters substantially converge in their decision-making, executive, and leadership functions. The parties are classified into three organizational models: the central board-executive model, the party assembly model, and the general administrative board-presidential council model. The study concludes that the common legal framework established by Political Parties Law No. 2820 generates institutional convergence, whereas ideological and historical traditions produce limited differentiation through organ names, co-chair arrangements, party assemblies, and consultative bodies.