1943 Constantinopolitan general election (Queen of Cities)

General elections were held in Constantinople on May 9, 1943 to elect all members of the country's future unicameral Parliament to an extended six-year term in accordance with the new 1943 Constitution, which was adopted on November 12, 1942 and would enter into force on May 24, 1943. The election marked the last event in the history of the Sovereign City of Constantinople, as it would soon be reorganized into the completely Republic of Constantinople via the 1943 Constitution. As such, the election also acted as a referendum on the adoption of the constitution and the city-state's planned independence. The resulting landslide victory of the Citizens' Front resulted in the largest parliamentary majority in the country's history up to that point.

The 1943 Constitution established the Republic of Constantinople as a parliamentary regime, thus abolishing the Directory and creating the ceremonial office of president of the Republic while designating the prime minister as chief executive. Following the election, Emre Dervish was named as prime minister by the newly elected president Moïse Abravanel.

Electoral system
The new unicameral Parliament was to be elected via first-past-the-post from single-member constituencies. The redistricting of electoral constituencies of 1942 was based on the 1931 census and was specifically designed to cross ethnic borders in order to prevent the creation of ethnic parties. The new constitution recognized equality between men and women, thus granting women the right to vote and the right to be elected. However, as the 1943 election was held under the 1925 Constitution, women were still barred from voting.

Context
The 1943 election was held during a turbulent period, as the country was on the way of getting a new constitution that would make it fully independent while transforming it into a parliamentary republic. Meanwhile, Europe was still engulfed in the Second World War, causing an economic crisis, disruption to the city's food imports and a wave of refugees. At the same time, the country's government was continuing its Great Reforms with the aim of modernizing the country. Much of the reformist agenda was inscribed into the country's new constitution, which proclaimed Constantinople to be a "democratic, secular and social republic" where the rights of all citizens, regardless of their gender, would be respected. In addition the 1943 Constitution codified new reforms, such as the adoption of French as the sole language of administration, business, education, and the press.

Over the previous two years, the government devised the implementation of its largest reforms: the creation of a universal secular education system that began in the 1943-1944 school year and the implementation of French as Constantinople's sole official language. These reforms, while highly controversial, would be included in the constitution and would solidify the achievements of the Citizens' Front over the previous eight years.