Representation Problems of Social Democracy in Turkey: CHP Will Welcome Anyone Who Is Determined to Preserve and to Work for the Consolidation of the Basic Values of Turkey, Be Her/Him Espouse Center-Right and Even Conservative Identity (1) (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi‪)‬

INTRODUCTION Recently Turkish political agenda is occupied by the debates on the possibility and/or necessity of holding early general elections. The last general elections were held in November 2002, which legally necessitates the next one to be held in 2007. However, this does not represent an exception in the course of Turkish democracy in post-1990 era. Although legally the general elections in Turkey are to be held every five years, from 1983 onwards Turkey witnessed general elections in every four years. The last general election of November 2002 was held even earlier than the general pattern, which decreased the period between two elections to three years. This state of affairs might be read as a sign of the consolidation of a certain instability, which ironically amounts to a de facto change in the electoral system so far as the election process is concerned. Today, an assessment of Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP), as the major parliamentary opposition and the carrier of the campaign for early general elections in 2006 is necessary for a better understanding of the prospects that await Turkey in the coming one year period. The analysis is all the more important for re-assessing the compatibility of CHP's claim to be the sole representative of social democratic political identity with its political agenda and policy preferences.