Ottoman Constitution of 1876

The first constitution of the Ottoman Empire, promulgated in 1876, suspended within two years, and restored in 1908.

Overview

Drafted under the reforming statesman Midhat Pasha, the constitution was promulgated by Sultan Abdul Hamid II on December 23, 1876, establishing a General Assembly with an appointed Senate and an elected Chamber of Deputies while leaving the sultan vast powers, including the right to exile those deemed dangerous to the state. Abdul Hamid used the Russo Turkish War as a pretext to suspend parliament in February 1878 and ruled autocratically for three decades. The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 forced him to restore the constitution, opening the Second Constitutional Era, and 1909 amendments shifted power toward parliament. It lapsed with the empire and was succeeded by the Turkish constitutions of 1921 and 1924.