Abstract:

Socialist/communist or more generally leftist ideas XIX. although it was one of the issues raised and discussed by Turkish intellectuals at the beginning of the century, it started to become organized and politicized with the return of the Constitutional Monarchy. In fact, the Ottoman Socialist Party, which was founded in 1910 by Hüseyin Hilmi in the libertarian environment brought by the Constitutional administration, was the first political experience of the left tradition in Turkish political life. However, between 1910 and 1919, the Turkish left could not win the right to be represented at the parliamentary level, and could not elect a deputy to the Ottoman parliament in the elections held between these years. With the parliamentary elections held in 1919, a socialist deputy candidate was elected to the parliament for the first time. This article was written to examine the life of Numan Usta, who was elected as Istanbul deputy from the Mesai Party lists, and the controversial 1919 elections