It started like an ordinary day for the young Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), Türkiye’s Parliament, on Oct. 29, 1923. Lawmakers discussed and partially approved a law about mandatory public service for doctors and proceeded to discuss other matters.
Then came the discussion for an amendment to the Constitution. That amendment changed the country forever. Minutes of the parliamentary session kept in the archives of Parliament are a testament to the enthusiasm of members of Parliament, which was inaugurated just three years ago, over the declaration of the republic a century ago.
On that day, which is now celebrated as Republic Day, Parliament started its session at 6:00 p.m., under the presidency of Ismet Bey (Inönü, who went on to succeed Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as the second president of the republic). Yunus Nadi Bey, head of the Constitution Committee of Parliament, was among the first lawmakers to speak in the discussion of the amendment to the Constitution to define the republic as the new form of government. “The first Parliament had the honor of establishing the government,” he said, referring to the first term of Parliament that ended in April 1923.
Eyüp Sabri Efendi, a lawmaker who would later serve as head of the Presidency of Religious Affairs, told the session that the republic was actually nothing new, and ever since the government was founded, it was run as a republic. Rasif Efendi, a lawmaker from the southern province of Antalya told Parliament that the country was self-governed and the amendment would merely be a “declaration of the obvious to the wider public.” Emin Bey, another lawmaker, proposed a presidential election every four years and the election of a president not affiliated with any party but rather “a father of the nation.”
Later, Parliament proceeded to vote on the amendment and amid chants of “Long live the republic,” it was approved by Parliament. Lawmakers also agreed to the firing of a 101-gun salute to honor the declaration of the republic. They then proceeded to elect the president and Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was unanimously elected the president of the new Republic of Türkiye by 158 lawmakers.
In his first address to Parliament amid thundering applause, President Atatürk thanked lawmakers and hailed the amendment for the declaration of the republic. “The Republic of Türkiye will prove worthy of the place it holds among world states via its efforts. We will always go forward together based on the love and trust of the nation. The Republic of Türkiye will be happy, successful and victorious," Atatürk told Parliament. As his speech concluded, lawmakers gave him another long applause, shouting “May Allah help you accomplish.” As the session neared its ending, Avni Bey, a lawmaker from Yozgat, proposed reciting prayers for the declaration of the Republic of Türkiye and the election of its first president. Lawmakers then recited a mass prayer.
