After a threat by Ragıp Gümüşpala that he would move to quell the coup unless it was led by someone with a higher military rank than himself, the officers brought in General Cemal Gürsel as their leader.

As such, he explicitly stated his anticommunism and his faith and allegiance to NATO and CENTO in his short address to nation, but he remained vague on the reasons of the coup.

We request our citizens to facilitate the duty of our armed forces, and assist in reestablishing the nationally desired democratic regime.In a press conference on the following day, Cemal Gürsel emphasized that the "purpose and the aim of the coup is to bring the country with all speed to a fair, clean and solid democracy....

I want to transfer power and the administration of the nation to the free choice of the people"[8] However, a younger group [tr] within the junta around Türkeş supported a steadfast military leadership, an authoritarian rule similar as it was with the Committee of Union and Progress or during Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's regime.

[6] This then led to a reaction from the officers within the junta who demanded a return to democracy and a multiparty system, following which Türkeş and his group were sent abroad.

President Celal Bayar, prime minister Adnan Menderes and several other members of the administration were put on trial before a court appointed by the junta on the island Yassıada in the Sea of Marmara.

The government that was formed after the coup, although it did not last long in power, created a political atmosphere that led to one of the more distinct mass emergences of the left in Turkey's history.