Page:Ottoman constitution of 1876.pdf/12

378 The elections shall be by ballot. The mode of election shall be determined by special law.

The mandate of Deputy is incompatible with public functions with the exception of those of Ministers. Every other public functionary elected deputy is free to accept or refuse but in case of acceptance he must resign his other office.

There cannot be elected as deputies : (1) Those who do not belong to the Ottoman nationality. (2) Those who by virtue of a special regulation in force enjoy the immunities attached to a foreign service which they exercise. (3) Those who do not know Turkish. (4) Those who are not 30 years of age. (5) People in the service of a private man. (6) Bankrupts. (7) Those of notoriously bad character. (8) Individuals who have been judicially condemned so long as they are not pardoned. (9) Those who do not enjoy their civil rights. (10) Those who claim to belong to a foreign nation. After the expiration of the first period of four years one of the conditions of eligibility of a delegate is that he shall know how to read Turkish and as far as possible write that language.

The general elections of deputies take place every four years. The mandate of each deputy lasts only four years but he is reëligible.

The general elections begin at latest four months before the 1st of November which is the date fixed for the meeting of the Chamber.

Every member of the Chamber of Deputies represents the whole of the Ottoman nation and not exclusively the district which has elected him.