The Veteran Parliament, the 1921 Constitution, and Dual Power

Falih Rıfkı Atay, one of the sharpest pens in the press world during the War of Independence and a journalist close to Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, wrote the following in the newspaper Akşam in July 1921: 

"The Anatolian War is one of the world's highest ideals because it is a revolution for freedom, but it is also a necessity that silences the mind from all kinds of debates because it stems from the most primitive, most basic need we call self-preservation. Because we are not just protecting our homeland against an enemy, we are protecting our lives against a murderer." 

The year 1921 is the year in which an important step was taken toward statehood in the Turkish National War of Independence, following the opening of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in 1920 and the adoption of the 1921 Constitution. From this point on, there is a dual power in question, not only in administrative terms but also in legal terms. 

This is because the name of the assembly that carried out the Anatolian Revolution is the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The name of the government is the Assembly Government. On the same homeland territory, there is a second state, a second will, a second government, and a second army. In short, there is a dual power in Anatolia, on Ottoman lands. Since there is no officially separate state, there is no head of state. For this reason, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha is the Speaker of the Assembly. He is not the head of state. 

In this respect, the 1921 Constitution is not the constitution of a state that has already been established, but of a state that is being established through war. Article 10 of the Constitution states, "Turkey is divided into provinces (vilayet) based on geographical situation and economic relations, provinces are divided into districts (kaza), and districts consist of sub-districts (nahiye)." In other words, there is no discrimination based on ethnic origin or sect in the local administration approach of the 1921 Constitution. There is geographical guardianship and economic relations. 

In the 1921 Constitution, a three-tier administrative division was made in terms of scale: provinces, districts, and sub-districts. While listing the duties and powers of the provinces, it was stated that they possess legal personality and autonomy. Before the Republic of Turkey was founded on October 29, 1923, one should not forget the experiences of the Western Thrace Government (1913) and the South West Caucasus Government (November 1918 – April 1919), which had its own constitution. The accumulation of 11 large and small congresses before the Erzurum Congress, and the experience of a total of 31 congresses together with the congresses to be held later, are also important. For this reason, one of the nicknames given to Mustafa Kemal Pasha among the people is the 'Pasha of Congresses'. 

THE POPULISM DECLARATION AND THE 1921 CONSTITUTION

The foundation of the 1921 Constitution rests on the Populism Declaration. The 31-article declaration, which was submitted to the Assembly by Mustafa Kemal Pasha on September 18, 1920, was submitted to the Assembly again as a draft law by a special commission on November 18, 1920, after the necessary discussions. On that day, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha said the following in the Assembly:

“The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which convened for legitimate self-defense as a result of imperialist states openly threatening the lives of our state and nation, has deemed it necessary to publish this declaration to once again present to the world the purpose and profession it has openly and implicitly declared on various occasions until now. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey was formed with the pledge to ensure life and independence within national borders and to save the office of the Caliphate and the Sultanate. Therefore, it believes that it will reach its goal by saving the people of Turkey, whose only and sacred aspiration it considers to be life and independence, from the domination and oppression of imperialism and capitalism, and by making them the masters of their own will and sovereignty.”

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey possesses an army established with the determination to defend against the aggressions of imperialist and capitalist enemies who conspire against the life and independence of the nation, and to punish those who act contrary to this purpose. The authority of command and control resides in the moral personality of the Grand National Assembly. The Grand National Assembly of Turkey considers its primary goal to be the removal of the causes of misery to which the people have long been exposed, through new means and organizations, and to replace them with prosperity and happiness. Therefore, it will strive to create innovations and institutions according to the needs of the people by establishing social brotherhood and cooperation in matters of land, education, justice, finance, economy, and foundations, as well as other issues. And for this, it intends to derive its political and social principles from the spirit of the nation and to observe the habits and traditions of the nation in practice. Therefore, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has begun to examine the provisions related to all administrative, economic, and social needs of the country one by one and to put them into practice in the form of laws. And God is the grantor of success.”

The Constitution, which was based on the Populism Declaration explained by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha with these words and adopted on January 20, 1921, is the constitution of the transition process from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic. It is one of the sources of legitimacy for the First Assembly, which effectively seized power in Anatolia—in other words, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the Veteran Assembly, the Revolutionary Assembly, which founded the state by fighting against imperialism and its local collaborators. Because that brave and heroic Assembly was a coalition formed for the independence of the homeland and was at war, it carefully avoided the debate over what the regime to be established after the liberation would be and what character it would possess. 

Another issue that was as valued and desired in the Veteran Assembly as the ideal of full independence and the National Pact was national sovereignty. By adopting a form of “assembly dictatorship,” the Assembly did not share its power with anyone and recognized no power above itself. It is for this reason and with these powers that the First Assembly is the supreme assembly, the revolutionary assembly. Gazi Mustafa Kemal Pasha, who prepared the nation for the struggle through congresses, subsequently opened the Assembly, and conducted the War of Independence—this most righteous and popular war the world has ever seen—based on the will and administration of the Assembly, wanted the assembly to be very powerful. This is a model of an assembly with the highest qualifications that makes laws, elects the executive—that is, the council of ministers—from within itself, undertakes the function of oversight, and does not share its power. Samet Ağaoğlu, the son of Ahmet Ağaoğlu—one of the distinguished intellectuals and thinkers of our history of thought and politics, who wholeheartedly supported the War of Independence and served in the 2nd and 3rd Assemblies—also used the concept of “assembly dictatorship” in his important work, The Spirit of the National Forces, to describe the power, superiority, jealousy regarding its authorities, influence, and function of the First Assembly. 

CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATES IN THE FIRST ASSEMBLY

Let us recall that the Assembly was opened in Ankara on April 23, 1920, before the adoption of the 1921 Constitution. There was no regular army yet. The regular army would be established by the cabinet decision dated November 8, 1920. The Veteran Assembly, under the conditions of that day, made laws, governed the country, and conducted the war in a pluralistic, participatory, and democratic environment with fierce debates. It was under these conditions that the 1921 Constitution was adopted. 

The first 4 articles of the Populism Declaration were written as a separate declaration by a special commission in the Assembly and were accepted as the Assembly Declaration. Constitutional debates, meanwhile, continued heatedly for two months. Ultimately, the first constitution made under wartime conditions, the 1921 Constitution, which is based on the principle of the unity of powers, was adopted on January 20, 1921. It consists of 23 articles and one separate article. 

The 1921 Constitution is not a typical, classic, or conventional constitution in the sense we understand today, both in terms of constitutional law and political science. It is not based on the separation of powers. It cannot be seen as a fundamental text regulating the relations between the state, society, and the citizen. It is a transition-period constitution before the proclamation of the Republic, described as a framework constitution that defines the most fundamental founding principles of a state that was still being established under wartime conditions. Other provisions that are present or expected to be in contemporary constitutions in today's sense, such as fundamental rights and freedoms and articles on how the constitution can be amended, are not present within the total of 24 articles. The principle of secularism is also not included. 

It is important to note that the opening of the Parliament in 1920 and the subsequent adoption of the constitution in 1921 represent a crucial turning point in the history of the Turks, who conducted war and revolution simultaneously during the War of Independence, becoming a nation while building a state, and building a state while becoming a nation. This is because a new state and a new regime were at stake. Although the new state and regime were not yet named (as it was still more than two years before October 29, 1923), the direction was clear. For this reason, British intelligence in Anatolia sent the following message to London after the Sivas Congress: 'The Turks are heading toward a Republic.'

A situation rarely seen in terms of history, law, and politics was unfolding in the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman state still existed and had not yet officially come to an end. The 1876 Constitution of the Ottoman Empire, the first and last constitution of the state (with amendments made in 1909), remained in effect. Because there was a Sultan in occupied Istanbul and a Parliament in Ankara, a state of dual power existed—constitutionally, administratively, and militarily. On one side were the collaborators, on the other the nationalists; on one side was occupation, on the other was war. In the First Parliament, there were symbols and attire representing different ideological and political traditions and identities—stars, crescents, and kalpak hats—but no political parties. 

In short, the primary goals of the Veteran Parliament were national sovereignty, full independence, and the National Pact. The 1921 Constitution was enacted precisely for these objectives. Those who drafted and approved this constitution knew it was temporary, as it was inevitable that a new constitution would be on the agenda after liberation. Indeed, shortly after the Republic was officially proclaimed on October 29, 1923, the first constitution of the Republican era would be adopted in 1924.