The single-party period of the Republic of Turkey began with the formal establishmentof the country in 1923 and the Republican People's Party (CHP) was the only partyuntil 1945. In this period, almost all decisions in the party were made by Ataturk, theparty leader, and an executive board under the presidency of İnönü. This executiveboard, including the party leader, the deputy leader of the party and the secretarygeneral, was authorized to determine the party’s parliamentary candidates. Before the1939 elections, Turkish MPs were selected in the headquarters of the party in Ankarawithout any pre-election polls or elections, and lists of candidates were submitted tovoters. The 1939 elections are the first elections succeeding Atatürk’s death and İnönü’selection as president, and therefore are politically significant in some ways. Comparedto previous elections, prior to the announcement of the Republican People’s Party’scandidates for MP, consultations were made with the second-round voters—who werealso selected from the party list—and a meeting was organized for this purpose. Thiswas the first time in the history of the Republican People’s Party that an exchange ofopinion was even occurring at all and a significant experience for primary elections tobe institutionalized.