The Problems Experienced by the Last Ottoman Parliamentarians Who Were Able to Join the Grand National Assembly in the First Term in Terms of Reaching the Parliament

Abstract

The defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War and the occupation of the country and its institutions, including Istanbul, by the Allied Powers hampered the work of the Parliament. This parliament, which was the last Ottoman Parliament, was an authority that showed the courage to take decisions that would positively affect the fate of the Turkish nation. So much so that it was able to take the "Misak-ı Milli" decisions, which are still actively used even in today's politics, and declare the indivisibility and unity of the homeland even under occupation. This parliament was seen as a structure that could not be controlled by the British and it was shut down. Subsequently, the members either fled or were sent into exile. Following this event, Mustafa Kemal and his friends deemed it necessary to open a new parliament in Ankara and this new constituent assembly was able to convene on April 23, 1920. As a result of the elections held, along with the new deputies who joined the assembly, the remaining deputies from the last Ottoman parliament were asked to come to Ankara and join the assembly. Many patriotic former Ottoman MPs who were able to escape from Istanbul, exile or imprisonment came to Ankara and started to work in the constituent assembly. The processes of their participation in the Grand National Assembly and the problems they faced are tried to be revealed in this study. The aforementioned process has been revealed by using both research works and official sources and memoirs of the period. © 2023, Osman Kose. All rights reserved.