Electoral Policies
The elections for parliament were held in accordance with the provisional electoral regulations. The parliament (house) was composed in two stages. The first one was the "Meclis-i Mebusan" (literally "Chamber of Deputies" or House of Representatives), which is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, while the corresponding upper house was the "Heyet-i Ayan" (Senate). The initial selection of deputies ("Meclis-i Mebusan") was made by administrative councils in the provinces ("Meclis-i Umumi").
After the establishment of the "Meclis-i Umumi" in the provinces, the members selected the deputies from within the "Meclis-i Umumi to form the "Meclis-i Mebusan" in the capital. The Meclis-i Mebusan had 115 members and reflected the distribution of the millets in the empire. In the second elections there were 69 Muslim millet representatives and 46 representatives of other millets (Jews, Phanariotes, Armenians).
The second body was the "Heyet-i Ayan" ("Senate") and the members were selected by the sultan. The "Heyet-i Ayan" had only 26 members. It was designed to replaced the porte and the Grand Vizier become the speaker of Heyet-i Ayan.
| Representation | ||
| lower house | upper house | |
| Province | Meclis-i Umumi | |
| Capital | Meclis-i Mebusan | Heyet-i Ayan |
The two elections, one each year, happened between 1877–1878.
Read more about this topic: First Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)
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