Democratic Elections is a web site I created for a draft of a civil initiative on democracy within legal and philosophical means as framework for a Civil Workplace as part of the Civil Society for the Analysis of Democratic Elections in Turkey within its legal implications and its relation to the democracy - http://demokratik-secimler.eu5.net/en/
Finding a space among the historical and beautiful Istanbul apartments for a few chairs, desks and bookshelves shall make it possible: to make an effort to contribute to the Democracy which is the foundation of living together and openness , to establish a Civil Institution working for the better understanding of the Pluralist Democracy among public, to work enthusiastically in the belief of which the Pluralist Democracy shall be the most beautiful form of Public Life, in the end all of these will be the inspiration of hope to maintain the continuity of this institution in the city of Istanbul.
Encountering with the civil society through the pages on the internet is a new issue but also there are fatiguing sides of it, as well as its agonies. Platforms on the internet, pages with participatory modules through written or various forms seemed to be sufficent for the participatory democracy, which in fact had remarkable contributions for the enhancement of the scope of democratic elections to the democratic debates free from the hegemony of the traditional press. ... Making an effort for the establishment of such a civil institution this will help me to discover the limits and possibilities of the civil society as a democratic contribution to the governance in Turkey. Hereafter will I have at least one concrete objective to achieve. And also, to be sincere, Turkish experience of democracy as a Public Life assumes the social bounds between people is safe unless it reaches a political involvement. I will try to cover the objective reasons behind this assumption as well as belief for it has a place among public, within the perception of democratic tradition.
Democratic elections are (for the constitutional law) the intersection of law and politics as the Suffrage is a constitutional right in democracies. As it is a legal issue but also political. This is the main reason, elections are right in relation to the type of regime, thus how elections are held in a country with its legal context is of privileged importance for the public affairs. The reason and context of this issue will be held, on these pages on the internet, within the section the Pluralist Democracy as the distinct democratic choice to be of this Civil Institution for its working principles.
What can a Civil Institution working on Law and Politics can achieve? -an important question as I mentioned above my ambition to discover the limits and possibilities of the Civil Society in a democratic regime. Nevertheless a Civil Institution is neither a parliament for legislation nor a speaker corner to make politics in the house of the people, or a judicial court to deal with legal cases.
But democracy is in its essence a regime deriving from the inclusion of the people to the governance of the country, primarily by the voting of the representatives to the parliament, and by the affirmation of this relation: flowered by the composition of the Society and their human rights, as their fundamental rights and freedoms are granted, each human to contribute, unique in a society, providing a myriad and humane proportion to the shaping of the democracy and thus the Public Life. While in necessity these are to be institutionalized, legally protected within the Rule of Law (by the Parliament or the Judiciary) and a pluralist democracy would be acquired.
The flowering nature of societies is brilliant anyway regardless of these to be institutionalized (such as ethnic, national diversities) or legally protected (such as women’ rights, protection of elder people, rights of the people who are selling their labour-power or skills under difficult conditions). But concerning the elected governments if only these tasks are maintained a democratic society can pursue its path in a modern era. From this perspective a Civil Institution, therefor, shall work (equivalent to the academy by its working principles) for the tasks to be done in between:
-the Law and the Politics (eg. for the social aspects of the Democratic Governance)
-Democracy and Diverse Culture - Social Phenomenons (eg. for the Relation of Democracy to the Political Movements)
-Diverse Culture - Social Phenomenons and Law (eg. for the Legality and its relation to the Democracy and the Rule of Law)
etc.
Neither of these can be created without a context but only formed within democratic principles as proportion and this formation must begin from the participatory work of the People as a ground: a democratic concern(More than an obligation or "demand") for the aspects of the Public Affairs remaining within the side of the People, and hopefully finalized in the Parliament or sometimes in the Judiciary while a democratic support may be sought by the formation of a political movement. Yet the politicians are elected but the journalists and the academics aren't which requires a common ground for them with the public, and this decade had various quests for a solution.
Cohesion of Law, Politics and Culture, altogether are the primary facets of a modern and pluralist society. Civil contribution by the virtue of the division of labour(which is why we elect representatives to the Parliament) will release the enormous pressure of the tasks expected to be achieved by the parliaments whilst a democratic(by the Demos or Populus) balance for the parliamentary work would be acquired.
Minority issue as the main problem of the countries in transition to the democracy should be noted here that, both political or another,and also national minorities are democratic parts of a society and their rights and freedoms are ambitiously advocated by theHuman Rights NGOs when these rights and freedoms are not/couldn't be articulated within the Rule of Law. But these human rights issues are causing to stray those minorities which should be noted as shame for a democratic society and which those people do not deserve, for being segregated to the Human Rights Courts although for a positive reason. Alas, a Civil Institution in purpose of the enforcement of Pluralist Democracy shall work for affirmative causes against discrimination and especially to repair the damage it gives, in a country in transition to the democracy where segregations because of misunderstandings or disagreements may occur... Notably, the minority rights consists of the right and freedom to be able to remain in the minority: a safeguard of the Pluralist Society, in order to provide a democratic contribution for the establishment of the right to the freedom of expression and free speech, as well as freedom from hegemony.
Unfortunately I couldn’t catch those days when efforts given to promote democracy by the Civil Society which I have found out its works and publications and although I couldn’t enjoy, were all in the past, and Civil Society was in decrease at the present, had given me hope and inspiration.
I have plenty of memories as a depiction of pluralist society in Istanbul. And these are all only to persist on my quest for a Pluralist Democracy in Istanbul and Turkey. Yet also a few novel, a few poem, a few cinema movie, a few work of artists, a few passages in autobiographies of various person longing for the old Istanbul, historical wooden houses of the Old Istanbul of which make me imagine its earlier residents and their public life. I even feel a kind of melancholy, sometimes, while reading the publications of the Council of Europe on pluralist democracy.
Neither my age group, nor most of the neighborhoods where I grew up does not intent as such evolution for “the Turkish society” in the orientation to the pluralist democracy seeing as their privileged attributions to the democracy is always within a limited (or rule basis, more than value) scope and inevitably segregating notably broad parts of, namely, "the Society". While the individualism is unfortunately deviated from its ethical context of which are freedom, equality and justice and its legal context prescribed under the Civil Code and legally protected by the Human Rights Acts and fundamental rights and freedoms is due to, say, arbitrary interpretation in the Public Life. Moreover criticisms are usually discarded within a discriminatory discourse such as, in return, attributing the critique: "of not being eligible for a modern living.", as I observed in Turkey in general. I know it is quite a radical criticism on individualism "as being in arbitrary interpretation" which may be seen as a conservative view however in fact it has to be balanced, just to remark, by liberal values: which we couldn't maintain in Turkey as a country in transition to the democracy and also as people of trying to understand the modernism as a tradition but not as a social aspect, as well.
Yet I never, maybe in this circumstance more ambitiously, cease to quest for the Pluralist Democracy as a beautiful hope. Apart from my short stays in Europe, when I have encountered such a Public Life in Istanbul, made me happy. But still it is a country in transition to democracy and such moments can be vulnerable and also enervating, or better to say: brings awkwardness along with it. A beautiful society, or a beautiful corner of it can only be gone through like those moments when passing through a street of Istanbul with various flowers smelling beautifully but then as you continue you reach the exhausting cacophony of the city. As it may be a too broad claim for a Civil Institution, to work for the profusion of values, norms in democratic means or anything beautiful for the Society, will anyway intersect with the path for the labour of contribution to the pluralist democracy, just like those flowered streets of Istanbul, although there aren't many left, but we still encounter.
I want these pages to be in English as well. And if I can even in French... The reason for this is not to have fund. But I miss those days when Europeans used to live and work in Istanbul making more beautiful a pluralist society.
Through this work, in my opinion, if a few panel within this framework, a few exposition to remember our lost pluralist society is organised these would be great contribution to provide hope and inspiration to those of whom longing for a Pluralist Democracy. Research on Democratic Elections with its legal context and its relation to the media would provide a remarkable resource for the scientific works to be done in this area, and then a Civil Institution would recognize its identity and find the self-confidence to continue its works...
Council of Europe Publications:
Council of Europe Publications:
Code of Good Practice in Electoral Matters: Guidelines and Explanatory Report - CDL-AD(2002)023rev-e
Compilation of Venice Commission Opinions and Reports concerning media and elections - CDL-PI(2016)006-e
European electoral heritage – 10 years of the Code of Good Practice in electoral matters
(Science and technique of democracy No. 50) (2013)
d e m . s e c @ y a h o o . co m
Kutlu Özbay
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