Local government elections in Turkey

On Sunday, March 31, local government elections will be held in Turkey. That is, citizens elect the mayor and neighborhood elders. Professor Fahrettin Altun, Head of the Communications Department under the President of Turkey, shared his views on the specific aspects of the elections in Turkey, how to ensure citizens' confidence in the election process, the international significance of the results of these elections, etc. Azon Global brings his article to your attention in its entirety.

Fair, transparent and regular elections are the most important element of modern democracies. The minimum condition of democracy is that the rulers derive their authority and power from the electorate, that is, from the governed. These powers are renewed through regular elections. Through elections, voters vote on the policies and activities of their candidates and rate them positively or negatively.

Since the introduction of multi-party system in 1946, Turkey has been at the top of the list of countries with regular, fair and transparent elections. Elections in Turkey are conducted under the supervision of independent judges through established institutions such as the Supreme Electoral Council (Central Election Commission) (YSK). Therefore, Turkey has a developed political culture in terms of election security and citizens' confidence in the electoral process.

Confidence in Turkey's election and voting process can also be seen in turnout. Turkey became the 3rd country with the highest turnout rate among the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries in the May 14, 2023 presidential and parliamentary elections. According to the information of the Supreme Electoral Council, the level of internal participation in the election held on May 14 was 88.92 percent, and in the election held on May 28, when the second round of the residency election was held, this indicator was 85.72 percent.

According to the OECD and the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), Turkey's participation rate in the May 14 internal elections surpassed many Western OECD countries, including the United States, France , Germany and the United Kingdom. . Another notable aspect of this data is that Turkey's voter turnout rate is higher than countries like Sweden, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, the Netherlands, and Norway, where voter turnout is around 80 percent.

Turkey will once again vote for candidates for the leadership of local government bodies on Sunday, March 31 of this year. The March 31 general elections of local authorities, which show Turkey's commitment to democratic values and innovative views on local governments, are gaining great importance in the national and international arena. At the moment, the election campaigns conducted in safe and fair conditions during this election process are evidence that Turkey is one of the leading countries with democratic maturity in the region in terms of the importance given to local governments.

I would like to emphasize that we pay great attention to ensuring that local governments, which are the primary stage in meeting the needs and demands of the people, have a worldview and perspective in line with modern standards. It is an obvious fact that this process is effective in strengthening the people's democratic activity and communication with local state authorities.

What is different about the innovative municipal approach that we have had for many years is that, along with technology and sustainable development projects, it is aimed at improving the quality of life of our people, building transparency, accountability in all circumstances, and most importantly, citizen-oriented administrations.

After the local elections of 1994, under the leadership of our resident Rajab Tayyib Erd o ghan, who took over the management of the Istanbul City Hall, Turkey took important steps to improve the quality of life of the population in the field of city management. The main political views of our municipalities are to continue the service policy and views put forward by our President 30 years ago. Therefore, we believe that maintaining the same vision and service concept with the upcoming local government elections will further strengthen our democratic values and social integrity in the national and international arena.

We consider the local elections to be held on March 31, 2024 to be an important stage on the way to democracy for Turkey. We believe that these elections are another step towards strengthening Turkey's leadership in the region, and we accept them as an important activity that increases the democratic maturity and social activity of our country. In addition, like all previous elections, this election will allow the Turkish people to participate more effectively in the democratic processes and thereby serve to strengthen our democracy.

Another important aspect of the March 31, 2024 elections is that there will be no new elections for 4 years after these elections. In these 4 years, Turkey will rapidly continue the development initiatives started under the leadership of our resident Mr. Rajab Tayyib Erd ogan . Services provided in recent years in every field, from communications to diplomacy, from economic development to investment in infrastructure, will continue. In addition, the goal of entering the "Century of Turkey" with a new and civil constitution will be the most important ideal and agenda of the next 4 years.

Within this vision, Turkey will continue to work towards establishing the "Turkey Century" with its claim to be a regional and global actor, raising democratic standards, increasing income and prosperity. Ensuring the transformation of the "Turkey Age" into the "Turkish World Age" by increasing regional cooperation and partnership relations in the Turkish world remains our priority during this period as well. Our main political motto is to make the Organization of Turkic States more important and more effective and efficient in finding permanent solutions to the problems of the Turkic world . In addition, we expect cooperation from friendly and brotherly Turkish countries in politically sensitive issues, which include Turkey's fight against terrorist organizations such as FETO and ISIS.

With the March 31 elections, Turkey will not only add another successful election to its democratic culture, but also prepare all its provinces, especially cities like Istanbul and Ankara, for the "Turkish Century". One of our most important post-election tasks will be national development, the recovery and reconstruction of cities affected by the February 6 earthquake, and the transformation of earthquake-prone cities such as Istanbul into resilient cities.

Turkey will continue to conduct elections within the framework of democratic principles, both the current government and the opposition will respect the results of the elections, and most importantly , it will continue to establish the "Turkey century " as a stabilizing force in the international arena. That is why the local government elections on March 31 can be said to be an election capable of reaching the goals of Turkey in the next ten years in terms of internal and external dynamics.

Professor Fahrettin ALTUN ,

Head of the Communications Office under the Resident of the Republic of Turkey