04.09.2026 00:01
Presidential Chief Advisor Mehmet Uçum objected to the expression 'the last elected Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey' used by Hasan Seymen, the lawyer of former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, against whom an investigation was launched on charges of 'insulting the President.' Uçum stated that in the parliamentary system, prime ministers are not directly elected by the people, and regarding this definition, he said, 'This perspective is highly problematic and absurd.'
Presidential Chief Advisor and Vice Chairman of the Presidential Legal Policies Board Mehmet Uçum objected to the statement "The last elected Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey" used by Hasan Seymen, the lawyer of Ahmet Davutoğlu, the former chairman of the dissolved Future Party and former Prime Minister, against whom an investigation was launched on charges of 'insulting the President'.
"THE LAST PERSON TO SERVE AS PRIME MINISTER IN THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY IS MR. BİNALİ YILDIRIM" Following this statement by Davutoğlu's lawyer, Uçum shared a post titled 'Was there ever a prime minister or minister elected as per the Constitution in the past!' on his social media account, expressing the following views: "According to the claim most recently voiced by the lawyer, Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu holds the title of 'The Last Elected Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey.' Let us state that the last person to serve as Prime Minister in the Republic of Turkey is Mr. Binali Yıldırım. If, in the parliamentary system, prime ministers are considered elected because they are members of parliament, then Turkey's 'Last Elected Prime Minister' would be Mr. Binali Yıldırım. If this consideration of being elected is exclusive to the leaders of the party that receives the most parliamentary seats in general elections, who are themselves members of parliament, then a very strange situation arises: those who became prime ministers immediately after general elections would be considered elected, while those who became prime ministers in between would not."
"THIS VIEW IS HIGHLY PROBLEMATIC AND ABSURD" The same logic can be applied to ministers. Those who became ministers immediately after general elections would be considered elected, while those who became ministers in between would be considered unelected. This oddity even extends to considering parliamentarians who became ministers immediately after general elections as elected, those who became ministers later as unelected, and ministers who are not parliamentarians as never being elected. This view is highly problematic and absurd.
"NEITHER THE PRIME MINISTER WAS AN 'ELECTED PRIME MINISTER,' NOR WERE MEMBERS OF PARLIAMENT 'ELECTED MINISTERS'" The truth is that in our parliamentary system, neither the prime minister was an 'elected prime minister,' nor were members of parliament 'elected ministers.' The only ones directly elected by the people were members of parliament, who are members of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. The people did not elect a prime minister or ministers. Winning the general elections did not constitutionally result in being elected prime minister either.
"IT IS UNDERSTOOD THAT A FABRICATED TITLE, IF YOU WILL, HAS BEEN PRODUCED" According to the repealed Article 109 of the 1982 Constitution, the Prime Minister was appointed by the President from among the members of parliament. Ministers, on the other hand, were selected by the Prime Minister either from among members of parliament or from among those qualified to be elected as members of parliament, that is, from outside the Parliament, and were appointed by the President. Therefore, it is understood that a fabricated title has been produced, which does not rely on any logical consistency, has no basis of legitimacy, and is clearly contrary to the constitutional provisions of that period."
Uçum's article is as follows;