the legislative branch from the executive branch, members of the cabinet cannot be a member of the parliament during their ministry. In addition to ministries, a number of staff organizations are grouped into the Executive Office of the President. These include the National Security Council, the State Supervisory Council, the National Intelligence Organization, the Directorate of Communications, Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency and the Presidency of Strategy and Budget. There are also state-owned enterprises such as the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation. Judicial branch The Constitutional Court, the Court of Cassation, the Council of State, and the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes are the supreme courts mentioned in the judicial section of the Constitution. The courts operate within the framework of civil law. The Constitutional Court checks whether laws are in accordance with the constitution. Since 2005, the legal principles as laid down in the various international human rights treaties have also been assessed. Government institutions, governing parties, and the opposition have direct access to the Court. Citizens can also plead the alleged unconstitutionality of a particular law in an ongoing lawsuit. International treaties, on ratification by the Parliament, have hierarchically the same effect as codes and statutes. However, international treaty provisions involving basic rights and freedoms prevail against domestic codes and statutes. There are also specialised courts for certain legal areas within the scope of the powers of civil courts such as cadastral courts, commercial courts, consumer courts, intellectual and industrial property courts, and labour courts. In certain disputes, some quasi-legal authorities must be used before applying to court such as the Sports Arbitration Committee and the Turkish Football Federation Arbitration Committee. Elections and voting system All Turkish citizens over 18 years of age have the right to vote in elections and to take part in referendums. Turkish women achieved voting rights in local elections in 1930. Four years later, universal suffrage was implemented in all Turkish elections. Turkey has been a multi-party democracy since 1950. A brief summary of the electoral systems used for each type of election is as follows: Presidential elections: A two-round system, with the top two candidates contesting a run-off election two weeks after the initial election should no candidate win at least 50% +1 of the popular vote. Parliamentary elections: The D'Hondt method, a party-list proportional representation system, to elect 600 Members of Parliament to the Grand National Assembly from 87 electoral districts that elect