Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–61) Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–61) The Democratic Party (Turkish: Demokrat Parti, DP for short) was a Turkish moderately right-wing political party, and the country's third legal opposition party, after the Liberal Republican Party (Serbest Cumhuriyet Fırkası) established by Ali Fethi Okyar in 1930, and the National Development Party (Milli Kalkınma Partisi) established by Nuri Demirağ in 1945. Founded and led by Celâl Bayar, it was the first of the opposition parties to rise to power, de-seating the Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi) during the national elections of 1950 and ending Turkey's one party era. The party facilitated the resurgence of
Atatürk's Reforms by Atatürk in the initial years of the independence war. In 1924 it was renamed the "Republican People's Party" ("Cumhuriyet Halk Fırkası") and in 1935 "Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi". The single-party regime was established de facto after the adoption of the 1924 constitution. The term "de facto single-party state" is used to define the period as the dominant-party system (in this case Republican People's Party), unlike the single-party state, allowed democratic multiparty elections, but existing practices effectively prevent the opposition from winning the elections. The Republican People's Party was the only elected party in the parliament between 1925 and 1945. There