Supreme Election Council (YSK)
The Supreme Election Council (Yüksek Seçim Kurulu, YSK) is the constitutional body responsible for the conduct, supervision, and adjudication of every general, presidential, local, and referendum election in Türkiye. Its decisions are final and not subject to appeal to any other court (Constitution, Art. 79).
Constitutional status
Article 79 of the Constitution provides that “elections shall be conducted under the general administration and supervision of the judicial organs.” The YSK is the apex of that judicial supervision. It administers all elections from start to finish and rules with finality on objections relating to election procedures, ballots, and results.
Composition
The YSK consists of seven full members and four substitute members. Six of the full members are elected from among the judges of the Court of Cassation (Yargıtay) and the Council of State (Danıştay) by their respective General Assemblies. Members of the YSK serve six-year terms.
The YSK elects its own President and Vice President from among its members.
Functions
- Setting the calendar for elections, by-elections, and referendums.
- Approving and publishing voter registers and the list of polling stations.
- Issuing binding regulations and decisions on the conduct of elections.
- Allocating broadcast time on state media to political parties during the campaign period.
- Examining objections to candidacies, ballots, and counting; ruling with finality on the validity of ballots and results.
- Certifying election results and proclaiming the elected candidates.
- Coordinating with foreign missions and border crossings for voting by Turkish citizens abroad (see Voting from Abroad).
Hierarchy of election boards
The YSK supervises a tiered structure of election boards:
- Provincial Election Boards (İl Seçim Kurulları) — one per province, chaired by the most senior provincial judge.
- District Election Boards (İlçe Seçim Kurulları) — one per district, chaired by the senior district judge.
- Polling-station Committees (Sandık Kurulları) — one per ballot box, including a chair, civil-servant members, and party-appointed members.
Decisions of district and provincial boards may be appealed within strict deadlines, with the YSK as the final adjudicator.
Why a separate page
The YSK is the institution most directly relevant to the title of this site, and yet historically it has often been described only in passing in primers on Turkish government. This page exists to give it the dedicated treatment its constitutional and practical role demand.