Full text of the paper presented in the Congress organised by the Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University and Silesian University

Introduction 

Local government reform in Turkey gained new momentum in 2005. The Turkish Grand National Assembly adopted new legislative reforms on local governments in 2005. Debates focusing on problems of local governments, however, seem to be continued. In principle, legislative reforms that centered on restructuring local governments in Turkey have been based on such generally accepted justifications: Reform, effectiveness, efficiency, local governance, participation and accountability.  

Turkey has also commenced membership negotiations with the European Union (EU). The impact of the EU enlargement on subnational governments, especially local governments, has political and economic significances for both member and applicant countries. The importance of local governments is also emphasized in the subsidiarity principle of the European Union, which is highlighted in the Maastricht Treaty: "...to continue the process of creating an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe, in which decisions are taken as closely as possible to the citizen in accordance with the subsidiarity principle.” (Bindebir, 2004: 1). Therefore, in order to meet the EU standards of local service delivery, strengthening local democracy and local governance matters, the local government reform in Turkey is necessary.   

This study heavily depends on Palabiyik&Yavas's (2005) public administration and local government agenda writing in the Journal of Administrative Sciences, Biga Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences. In this paper, we aimed at providing a general view of local government system and summarizing related reform efforts in Turkey. In this context, at first, as a background section, an overview of local governments and related reform issues has been summarized. Then, the Municipal Act of 2005 has been introduced from the point of participation related arrangements view. In conclusion, we stated that the reform process is still going on, and the Municipal Act of 2005 has such notable arrangements as stated in local participation context. 

Overview of Local Governments in Turkey 

Turkey’s local government system has witnessed too many changes since its beginnings in the mid 1800s. However, before the adaptation of local government system, local services were carried out by neighborhoods, guild of tradesmen and foundations known as pious endowments as named mahalle, lonca and vakif in Turkish. This system could not meet the needs of developing urban communities. The first municipality in Turkey, which of Istanbul, was created in 1854 in the era of Reform Movement, Tanzimat, by taking French local government model. And nearly ten years later the Ottoman State was divided into provinces, districts and villages. But even then the locally elected municipal councils did not come into for a long time. The first municipal division in Istanbul began to operate in Pera, Beyoglu, where mostly inhabited by foreigners and non-Moslem minorities, and French was, also, adopted as its official language (Soysal, 1967: 7). 

Following the establishment of the Turkish Republic in 1923 as a unitary state, a local administration system based on the principles of a strong central government was established. During the early years, local governments were seen as an extension units of the central government. Local authorities are public corporate entities established to meet the needs of the inhabitants of provinces, municipalities and villages. The first municipality law passed in 1930, listed the duties and responsibilities of the local authorities and remained the basic legislation for today’s municipalities until mid 2005.  

Turkey has mainly three types of local governments. First, village administrations are the oldest and the most basic category of Turkish local governments. Villages are traditional settlements where municipal administrations have not been founded yet. Village is a small settlement formed up by usually fewer than 2,000 inhabitants. The Village administration has a jurisdiction within the boundaries of its village. In general, small settlements together with their properties, fields etc. constitute villages. The village administration has three organs: Village society, council of elders, and village headman-Muhtar. Village administrations perform their activities by elected headmen and councils of elders. Village society is regarded as a practice of direct democracy. The reference law for village administrations is the Village Act of 1924, numbered 442 which is in force since then. Their tasks, powers, organs, organization, finance and working principles are defined through this act. Turkish constitution of 1982 clearly states village administrations as local administrative units having legal personality. In fact, village administrations do not have sufficient personnel and organizational structure to be evaluated as real body of local governments. Personnel of village administration even headmen’s wages are paid by the central government. Thus, headman as the executive power of the village administration works as an agent of central government (Soysal, 1967: 8; Turkish Ministry of Interior; 1999, 89-95). There are approximately 35,000 villages in Turkey. 

Second, there are municipal administrations whose jurisdiction is limited to urban areas, provinces, districts and villages with inhabitants more than 2,000. According to the Municipal Act of 2005, the inhabitant requirement was increased to 5,000. The municipality is a main local administrative unit that meets the common local needs and carries out its services in settlements. Municipality has, also, public law entity. The reference law for the municipalities was the Municipality Act of 1930, numbered 1580. Today it was replaced by the Municipality Act of 2005, numbered 5393. The Municipality Act of 2005 is still in effect today. Municipalities are basic local governmental establishments in settlements with 5,000 inhabitants, and in the provincial and district centers regardless of their populations. Since 1984, metropolitan municipalities have been set up based on the legal power given by the Turkish Constitution, to serve areas with larger population. Metropolitan municipalities and, within their boundaries, district and lower-tier municipalities are present in Turkish local government system in addition to the ordinary municipalities. The municipal administration has, also, three organs: Municipal council, municipal executive committee and mayor (The Turkish Ministry of Interior; 1999, 55-58). By the date 2005, there were 3,216 municipalities including 16 metropolitan municipalities in total.  

Thirdly there are special provincial administrations whose areas of jurisdiction coincide with the provincial administrative divisions of the central government. In other words, the province is the same area both an administrative unit of central government and also a territory of a local government authority. Once a province is established, special provincial administration is also established automically as a local governmental body. Special provincial administration has three organs: Provincial general council, executive committee and governor.  Special provincial administration as a local governmental body has an elected organ, the provincial general council. But, its head and executive officer is the same provincial governor appointed by the central government representing the state. The reference law of the special provincial administrations was the Special Provincial Administration Act, firstly issued as a temporary law in 1913, then took its name in 1987 and numbered 3360. It was replaced by the Special Provincial Administration Act of 2005, numbered 5309. The Special Provincial Administration Act of 2005 is, still, in effect today. By the date 2005, there were 81 special provincial administrations in Turkey. 

As the 123^rd article of the 1982 Constitution states that: “Administration forms a whole with regard to its structure and functions, and shall be regulated by law. The organization and the functions of the administration are based on the principles of centralization and decentralization”. Administrative units in Turkey may shortly be classified as: Central administration, local governments and other institutions and organizations. These groups of administrations as a part of a unitary state model structure work in the principle of integral unity of the administrations. Central administration is the main structure of the state. It makes general political, economic and administrative decisions and implements such policies. It is composed of central administration organizations in Ankara and the provincial administrations. Provinces are administered based on the principle of deconcentration.   

The 127^th article of the Constitution defines local authorities as follows: “Local administrative bodies are public corporate entities established to meet the common local needs of the inhabitants of provinces, municipal districts and villages, whose decision making organs are elected by the electorate described in law, and whose principles of structure are also determined by law. The formation, duties and powers of the local authorities shall be regulated by law in accordance with the principle of decentralization.”  

Need for a local government reform  

The 1980s and the early 1990s have witnessed to major political and economic changes in most regions of the world. The main reasons of those changes might be summarized as the failures of central command and control systems, inefficiencies of highly centralized state dominated economies and main misuses of authoritarian regimes. Therefore, those changes have led to search for more open market economies and the movement toward more accountable democratic governance (Johnson and Minis, 1). Thus, public sector reforms have been the most considerable national and international agenda matters of developed and developing countries under the title of new public management.  Indeed, there is no a unified coherent new public management model, in this paper, the need for local government reform in Turkey going to be discussed.  Subsequently, a brief overview of the local governments in Turkey and purported changes concerning with local participation in the municipalities by outlining legal aspects of new legislation on municipalities would be presented.  

Turkish public administration may be characterized as centralized unitary system with its foundation and duties based on principles of central administration and local administration. In general, the main obstacles and problematic of Turkish public administration system might be summarized as below (Palabiyik, 2004: 37-38): 

First, Turkey is a highly centralized unitary state. Many of administrative decisions are made by central government and its agencies. However, there are substantial obstacles in carrying out some services in terms of integrity and unity.  

Second, Turkish public administration poses as bureaucratic and an awkward structure. Some of the functions and duties of public administrations are not even carried out or implemented in limited context and/or implemented in far from their own objectives. Due to an obstructive bureaucratic perceptive, an unbalanced distribution of power and responsibility among central and local governments with the influence of negative impacts of politics on the bureaucracy some services are not being performed. However, there are unnecessary organizational establishments in carrying out some of the services. With this appearance, the central government gets bigger step by step without meeting public needs by consuming considerable public resources. Therefore, inefficiencies of public authorities, strict bureaucracy, wastefulness and inadequate meeting of public needs trigger lack of confidence in public.  

Third, lack of openness-transparency and secrecy exist in the Turkish public administration. Shortly, lack of openness in administration may be understood as insensitive administration to its community and citizens. Secrecy refers to being not enough clear and intelligible in administrative related information, documents and its actions and operations.  

Fourth and the last main problematic of Turkish public administration is insufficiencies in democratic participatory governance practices. Administrations are really in need of reform and redevelop themselves in the light of new approaches and developments. Such as international developments, globalization and localization aspects and getting a part of the EU make reform process as an inevitable aspect of Turkish public administration system.

The centralized administrative system in Turkey has historically made it very difficult to pursue rational public policies on local levels. On the other hand, there is a high degree of urbanization in Turkey. As of the last population census year, 2000, an estimated 79 percent of Turkish population live in urban areas or within municipal boundaries which triggers a major need for new infrastructure and local services. In addition, there are large number of municipalities as the basic urban local administrative units in Turkey. There were 3,216 municipalities in Turkey in 2005. 

All countries have a central government, but not all countries have the same type of local governments. Local governments are democratic administrative units established outside the central administration to carry out common local public services. Their establishment, duties and powers are regulated by law according to principle of decentralization. As an overall concept, decentralization refers to delegation of power to the local governments by the central government. Decentralization also includes devolution of power from central to local level. Decentralization concomitantly refers to local self-government.  

Democracy’s main notion is, shortly, to be based on an effective communication among people who share common interest. As democratically elected local administrative units, local governments are basic administrative units of a modern democratic state. Since local governments are the closest administrations to the local citizens and the most effective administrative local units to mandate and regulate daily issues that stem from the heart of local community, they gain much attention from the public. In this respect, when it comes to the local democracy that notion gets more attention (Details, 2005: 6). Reform is not a one-off act but a complex, dynamic and long-term process. It requires a genuine and thorough commitment of public authorities, and full engagement of stakeholders in all levels.  

In the case of Turkey, there are main reasons for reforming the municipalities in Turkey.  

Firstly, Turkey is still a highly centralized state. However, there are recently notable moves toward willingness to give more power and responsibility to local governments. Still in Turkey, the local government expenditures compose 15 percent of all government expenditures, whereas this amount is 85 percent for central governments. This percentage is half and half in EU member countries. The low expenditure percentage of local governments in Turkey in total government expenditures shows the need for restructuring of local governments to administrative efficiency and local development (Bindebir, 2004: 6).  

Secondly, there is a high degree of urbanization in Turkey. As of the last population census year, 2000, an estimated 79 percent Turkish population live in urban areas or within municipal boundaries which triggers a major need for better local services.

Thirdly, local communities seek to have their own municipal administrations insistently. Establishment of new municipalities has been an increasing process since 1950. Due to the rise in urbanization, inflow of new habitants and the other such reasons there is a large number of municipalities. Only 8 municipal administrations were established annually from the foundation of the Turkish Republic to 1950, while 57 new municipalities have been established annually since that year. The number of municipal administrations was 436 in 1923; 628 in 1950; 1,303 in 1970; and 3,216 in 2005. Thus, the former population requirement of 2,000 in establishing of new municipality remains incapable. The majority of municipalities are small. Except provincial and district municipalities almost 10.5 percent, 340, of all the municipalities in Turkey have a population of less than 2,000. And, 51 percent of the municipalities’ population is between 2,000 and 5,000. In fact, 61.5 percent of Turkish municipalities have a population less than 5,000 which is regulated in the Municipal Act of 2005 as a minimum population requirement in establishing of a new municipality. Also, 80 percent of the municipalities’ population is under the 10,000 inhabitants. In total 2,554 municipalities whose populations are less than 10,000 serve to 9.5 million residents, remains, 645, excluding metropolitan municipalities, have to serve to 44 million people. Small municipal administrations have many difficulties related to their administrative capacities. They spend great amounts of their limited revenues to their running expenditures. Many of municipalities do not even enough sufficient resources for their daily services. And, they have same basic problems to employ qualified personnel. 

Fourthly, basic international treaties, especially signature of the Council of Europe’s Charter of Local Self-Government, which entered into force in 1993 with some recedes, and Agenda 21 are some attracting attention international treaties in Turkish reform process. Finally, European integration, main conceptual developments on globalization and localization subjects and democratization movements are main reformative motivation objects in this process.  

As a result, when we evaluate reform activities until those legislative efforts in 2005 the following conclusions are reached: The first objective of the local government reform process in Turkey is its complex characteristic. Many notable reformative scientific or politic such efforts do not reflect integrity characters. Also, those efforts do not have clearly stated main objectives fascinating the process such effectiveness, efficiency, participation and democracy etc. Main reference laws on Turkish local governments are quite outdated. Moreover, there are quite insufficiencies about basic understandings on local democracy.    

Local Participation Perspectives in the Municipal Act of 2005 Numbered 5393 

The new Municipal Act (5393/2005) is in force today. This main reference law on Turkish municipalities except metropolitans seems to be a last point of this local government reform process on municipalities in Turkey. Changing characters of administration and its newly introduced approaches, transition to generally authorized administration approach for municipalities in their common local affairs, and some basic regulations ensuring local self government context, participation, effectiveness and administrative autonomy are main characteristics and foundations of the Municipal Act of 2005 (See Basbakanlık, 2005).  

Local participatory perspectives and related regulations of the Act may be stated as follows:  

Those regulations are mainly related to consultative participation to some institutional operations: Article 8 regulates general aspects of municipal mergers and community joining to established municipal administrations. The system of a written petition of more than half of the specified community electors, also, is regulated same as in the formal Municipal Act (1580/1930). To apply votes of communities that want to join to a municipality is, also, favourable arrangement with the Council of Europe’s Charter of Local Self-Government’s article 5^th. 

Article 9, at first time, mainly organizes municipality’s relationship with neighborhoods as called mahalle in Turkish. Instead of having elected headmen and elderly council members neighborhood administrations within municipal borders, they are not local governmental bodies in Turkish local government system. With respect their social and historical characters, they are treated as administrative units of central government in local levels. According to the new regulation, municipal administration has to pay attention neighborhood residents’ common wishes in its decisions. Municipality also supports neighborhood administrations and meets common needs of neighborhoods within the bounds of its financial possibility. Municipalities carry out their tasks in suitable manner with neighborhoods’ needs. They may also conduct public polls to get information about residents expectations on municipal services (see article 15).  

According to Article 13, local residents have a right to participate municipal decisions and municipal services. They, also, have a right to be informed about municipal functions. Municipal administration takes necessary decisions by the broad participation of universities, specialists and non governmental organizations, NGOs, in conducting activities that improves residents’ social and cultural relationships. 

Municipal council is the decision taking organ of municipality. It is composed of members elected by residents. Municipal council members, also, operates via specialization committees. Neighborhood administrations elected headmen, other provincial public organizations’ chiefs, provincial chambers of trade and industry, universities, labor unions, and the representatives of NGOs related to the local agenda matter may participate and express their opinions without right to vote in such specialization committees’ meetings. This participatory approach is, also, an obligation for strategic plan (see article 41) and disaster emergency plans developing processes (see article 53).   

Article 76 of the Municipal Act regulates a city council as a main institutional context on participatory approach. The City council is a new body in municipal administration to perform local participatory process on behalf of local residents. It mainly constitutes developing city vision, building up residents’ consciousness, protection of justice and equity, sustainable local development, environmental awareness, social assistance and cooperation, openness, responsibility and accountability, participation and local self government principles. City council is mainly composed of by the local representatives of private sector such as the chambers of trade and industry, labor unions, public notaries, universities, related NGOs, political parties, public sector such as other local public organizations, neighborhood administrations and other interested residents. Municipal administration supports city council’s efforts and operations for its effectiveness. Decisions of city council are put on the municipal council agenda.

At last, Article 77 is about voluntary participation to some municipal services by relevant residents. Municipal administration has special programs to make possible voluntary participation of residents to health, education, sports, environment, social works, libraries, parks and recreational works, traffic and cultural services and especially services for senior citizens, women and children, handicapped people, and poors.  

Concluding Remarks 

There are great global, national and local interests in urban politics agendas in terms of conceptual shift from local government to local governance since last three decades. In other words, local governance suggests sharing of powers, responsibilities and resources between elected local governmental bodies and non-elected other operating social actors such local private and voluntary sectors. As a result, by the side of local governments other local sectors gain increasingly important roles in designing local policy matters, delivering local services, and involving in various public-private sector partnerships.  

Some important points are worthy of emphasis in our study. First, the generally noted reform process discussions seem to continue in administrative agenda in Turkey while the local governments exercise their new legislative arrangements. Second, legislative reforms on local governments in Turkey might be regarded as new opportunities by the local governments to show transparency, participation in the process of developing local policies and demonstrate accountability to their local citizens. Municipalities, as the closest local administrative entities to local citizens, are worthy to exercise their power in an effective and democratic manner.  The reform of local government should be an important contribution to set up and consolidate functioning public administration reform in Turkey. As a result, the Municipal Act of (5393/2005) has noteworthy local participatory perspectives which aim to meet national and international actual requirements for more effective and democratic municipal administrations. This might be evaluated as a starting point not an ending one. On the other hand, we should keep in our mind that, written regulations generally emerge from deeps of their historical, institutional, social, economic and political bases. Laws and regulations take their forces and sanctions from those bases and current conscious social actors. As responsible social actors: Public, private and voluntary sectors, mainly, we are the citizens should make laws and regulations possible to work to enjoy in better life all together 

Acknowledgement 

Authors would like to express their deepest thanks to esteemed members of Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University and Silesian University for their substantial encouragement to participate the Congress.  
 

References 

Bindebir, Serap, 2004, “Intergovernmental Finance and Local Government System in Turkey: Experiences and Lessons to be Learned from Poland”, Ecomed 2004 International Conference on Policy Modeling, April, pp. 1-31. 

Details, 2005, “Local Government Reform and Decentralization”, V1, Edition 5, April. 

Johnson, Ronald W., and Henry P. Minis, Jr., “Toward Democratic Decentralization: Approaches to promoting Good Governance”, Research Triangle Institute, pp. 1-10. (No date). 

Palabiyik, Hamit, 2004, “Kamu Yönetimi: Sorunlar ve Yeniden Yapılanma Gereği”, Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi, Kamu Yönetimi ve Yerel Yönetimler Gündemi, 1: 1-2, pp. 37-50.

Soysal, Mümtaz, 1967, Local Government in Turkey, A Publication of TODAIE, Ankara. 

Palabiyik, Hamit, Yavaş, Hikmet, 2005, “Yerel Yönetimlerde Yeniden Yapılanma Sürüyor”, Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi, C 3, S 1, pp. 27-33. 

T.C. Başbakanlık, Kanunlar ve Kararlar Genel Müdürlüğü, Belediye Kanun Tasarısı ve Gerekçesi, 30.05.2005. 

The 1982 Constitution of the  Republic of Turkish. 

Turkish Ministry of Interior, General Directorate of Local Authorities, 1999, Local Authorities in Turkey, Ankara.