Today in History – 12 January

A party marching to power

CHP entered an intense period of restructuring following the social and economic developments in the aftermath of the 1957 elections, which led to significant changes in the party politics. Starting on 12 January 1959, the 14th CHP Convention was held in the spirit of “a party marching to power.” The most important step taken at the convention was the acceptance of the “Declaration of Primary Objectives,” which entailed a change in structure.

Opening with the sentence, “All antidemocratic laws, methods, and implementations that hamper or halt progress shall be removed,” the declaration foresaw the establishment of democratic institutions and the complete supervision of judicial review. The declaration also sought to change the 1924 Constitution, which had fallen behind the separation of powers, in line with the principles of modern democracy and society and based on a constitutional state order of public sovereignty, social justice, and security.

In addition, the number of Party Council members was increased from 30 to 40 and the number of members in the Central Administration Council was raised to 11, including the general secretary. During the convention, İsmet İnönü was once again reelected as president and Kasim Gülek as its general secretary. Following Kasım Gülek’s resignation from this position on 28 September 1959, İsmail Rüştü Aksal was appointed to his place.