(As amended on December 12, 2002 – Article 4777/2)
If the holding of new elections is found impossible because of war, the Turkish Grand National Assembly may decide to defer elections for a year.
If the grounds for deferment do not disappear this measure may be repeated under the procedure for deferment.
By-elections shall be held when vacancies arise in the membership of the Turkish Grand National Assembly. By-elections shall be held once in every election term and cannot be held until 30 months have elapsed from the date of the previous general elections. However, in cases where the number of vacant seats reaches five percent of the total number of seats, by- elections shall be held within three months.
By-elections shall not be held within one year before general elections.
Apart from the above-specified situations, if a city or district lacks representation in Parliament, a by-election shall be held on the first Sunday, 90 days following creation of the vacancy. In elections held per this paragraph, paragraph 3 of Article 127 of the Constitution shall not apply.
