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Local Elections in Turkey 2019 INFO PACK Local Elections in Turkey 2019 INFO PACK Local Elections in Turkey 2019 Local Elections in Turkey 2019 © TRT WORLD RESEARCH CENTRE ALL RIGHTS RESERVED WRITTEN BY Abdullah Keşvelioğlu Alpaslan Oğuz Edebali Murat Akca Muhammed Lütfi Türkcan PUBLISHER TRT WORLD RESEARCH CENTRE March 2019 PHOTO CREDIT ANADOLU AGENCY TRT WORLD İstanbul AHMET ADNAN SAYGUN STREET NO:83 34347 ULUS, BEŞİKTAŞ İstanbul / TURKEY TRT WORLD LONDON PORTLAND HOUSE 4 GREAT PORTLAND STREET NO:4 LONDON / UNITED KINGDOM TRT WORLD WASHINGTON D.C. 1819 L STREET NW SUITE, 700 20036 WASHINGTON DC / UNITED STATES www.trtworld.com researchcentre.trtworld.com Abbreviations AK Party: Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) CHP: Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi) DSP: Democratic Left Party (Demoktatik Sol Parti) HDP: Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi) IYI Party: Good Party (İyi Parti) MHP: Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi) YSK: Supreme Election Board (Yüksek Seçim Kurulu) 4 Local Elections in Turkey 2019 Introduction urkey will go to the polls on publican People’s Party) and IYI Party (Good Party) March 31 2019 to elect their led Nation’s Alliance, on the other hand, will be co- local representatives. Depend- operating in 23 metropolitan municipalities and 27 ing on where they live, people provincial municipalities. In Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir, will vote for mayors, municipal Turkey’s 3 largest cities, the AK Party’s and CHP’s council members, provincial mayoral candidates will be competing, with the MHP Tassembly members, neighbourhood representa- supporting the former’s candidates and the IYI Party tives (mukhtar) and council of elders. The upcoming supporting the latter’s. local elections will be the first under Turkey’s new presidential system. Although there are no major Local elections in Turkey have always been perceived variations between the current and previous local as the cornerstone of politics in the country by politi- elections, political parties have been following the al- cal parties, individual politicians and voters alike. This liance strategy as they did for the parliamentary and info pack delves into the question of why local elec- presidential elections held on June 24th 2018, fol- tions are an important phenomena in Turkish political lowing the adoption of the Presidential System. life. It also provides the profiles of the major political parties running in the elections and their manifestos The local elections will be held across 30 metropol- for the upcoming local elections. In addition, essen- itan municipalities, 51 provincial municipalities, 922 tial information about the March 31 polls is laid out district municipalities, 32,105 neighbourhoods and with a particular attention to the major cities, namely 18,306 villages. The People’s Alliance, composed Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Diyarbakır, Adana and Balıkesir. of the AK Party (Justice and Development Party) Lastly, the info pack explores measures taken to en- and MHP (Nationalist Movement Party), agreed to sure security for the election, information regarding cooperate in all of 30 metropolitan municipalities in election integrity and how votes are cast and regu- addition to 21 provincial municipalities. The CHP (Re- lated. 5 Local Elections in Turkey 2019 Anatomy of Local Elections in Turkey There are two layers of government in Turkey: the central education, food and clothing. Therefore, one can suggest government and local governments. Local governments are that the citizen-state relationship begins at the local level elected through popular vote for a five-year term. Local gov- between the public and municipal governments. ernments’ authority to govern in their respective districts is protected by the constitution. However, the constitution Municipalities in Turkey have various type of responsibilities also entitles the central government to watch over local au- including - but not limited to - infrastructure, sanitation, fire thorities in order to ensure the integrity of the administration and rescue services, local public security services, public in the country. Regarding the relationship between central health, providing construction permits, supervising the pric- and local governments, Turkey follows the rules and stand- ing of retail markets, opening up public bazaars, establishing ards of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, as industrial sites, promoting education, providing vocation- it is one of the signatories of the charter. The charter sets al courses and establishing public libraries. In addition to out the standards for protecting the rights of local authori- those, municipalities are also liable for transportation, pro- ties and requires states to comply with a number of condi- viding religious and wedding services, establishing student tions, principles and practices. dormitories, protecting and renovating historical artefacts and opening up art and sports centres. The first municipality dates back to the 19th century in Istan- bul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, where the first munic- From the ruling political party’s perspective, local elections ipal entity – known as the “Şehremaneti” – was established are seen as a litmus test for the performance of the central in 1854. From then on, local government has played a vital government. For opposition parties, it is a springboard for role in the social, economic and political fabric of Turkey. Ac- the next general elections. Local elections are also signif- cording to official figures, in 2018 local governments were icant for individual politicians. Many politicians in national responsible for approximately 35 percent of total public in- politics in Turkey have a background in local politics. Turk- vestments in areas such as transportation, healthcare, arts, ish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, for instance, won the culture, sports and tourism. Furthermore, since the 1990s municipal elections in Istanbul in 1994 and it was his per- municipal governments have been the corner stone of the formance as the mayor of Istanbul that brought him into the social welfare system in the country. This includes providing forefront of Turkish politics. a range of social services to the poor, including healthcare, Source: Aytaç Ünal - AA 6 Local Elections in Turkey 2019 Source: Şahin Oktay - AA Voting Behaviour Voter behaviour in general is studied from various the- ish public, suggesting that voters cast their votes based on oretical perspectives. The most prominent models are their position on the ideological spectrum, ethnicity and/or the rational (economic), psychological (partisanship) and level of religiosity. sociological (social cleavages) models. The rational mod- el suggests that voters punish or reward the incumbent The economic model has also been applied in explaining government for their economic performance on the basis the Turkish electorate’s voting behaviour. These models of their self-interested calculations. The psychological suggest that voters consider the previous and current model focuses on voters’ previous political and ideological economic performance of the incumbent government affiliation. Proponents of this model claim that partisan- when casting their votes. There are also other studies ship is the most powerful explanatory tool in determining looking into impacts of family and social environment on the causes of voter behaviour. The sociological model on political affiliation and the resulting voting behaviour of the the other hand, argues that the social cleavages, such as Turkish electorate. Additionally, security concerns of citi- ethnicity, religion, class and occupation, are the sources of zens have – from time to time – had a significant impact why voters decide to vote for one party but not another. on voting behaviour. As numerous studies have shown, the Turkish electorate’s sensitivity to terrorism and security Voter behaviour studies regarding local and general elec- can significantly affect their voting decisions. tions in Turkey have traditionally utilized the sociological model. Sociology professor Şerif Mardin’s renowned ‘cen- Apart from the factors listed above, the profiles of the may- tre-periphery’ explanation of Turkish society has been at oral candidates greatly shape the voter’s decisions. The the forefront of these studies. According to this expla- importance of candidate profiles is more evident in smaller nation, the centre is consists of a wealthier and generally cities and districts whereas party preference has a great- more secular segment of the population while the periph- er effect on voters’ decisions in metropolitan cities. All in ery is composed of relatively poor and conservative peo- all, voters take the political party (its leader, cadre and pro- ple. Other studies that apply the sociological model to their gramme), the candidate, the current agenda of the country, analysis focus on the left-right divergence/economic ide- religion, ethnicity, economy, ideology into consideration ology and ethnic and religious identity amongst the Turk- and form their decision on the basis of their priorities. 7 Local Elections in Turkey 2019 How Local Elections Work in Turkey? • Local elections are regulated according to the Local Electoral Law (Law 2972) which deter- mines the rules before, during and after the election. • In local elections, people have a different number of votes depending on the type of district they live in. People who live in a metropolitan city (cities with
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