Türkiye updates parliamentary seat allocation based on population data

ANKARA

Türkiye’s highest election authority has recalculated the number of parliamentary seats allocated to each province following the release of the country’s latest population statistics.

Under Türkiye’s election law, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) is required to determine electoral districts and the number of lawmakers each district will send to parliament and distribute all 600 seats in the Turkish parliament among the country’s 81 provinces.

As a result of the update, Istanbul will elect 96 members of parliament, the capital Ankara 37 and the western city of İzmir 28, reflecting their continued status as Türkiye’s most populous provinces.

Provinces electing up to 18 lawmakers will form a single electoral district, those with 19 to 35 lawmakers will be split into two districts and provinces with 36 or more seats will be divided into three.

Istanbul and Ankara will each be divided into three electoral districts, while İzmir and the northwestern city of Bursa, which will elect 21 lawmakers, will be divided into two.

According to official data, Türkiye’s population reached approximately 86.1 million last year.

Istanbul’s population climbed by more than 52,000 to 15.7 million, followed by Ankara with 5.9 million and İzmir with 4.5 million.