« A muhtar is the foundation block of democracy, » said 58-year-old Birsen Yirmibeş. She is one of the country’s more than 50,000 muhtars – a term for elected neighborhood representatives.
Turkey Recap, March 27, 2024, by Sema Beşevli
According to Yirmibeş, their presence in Turkey’s local politics is not something outsiders can easily understand.
« People turn to us for a wide range of assistance, » she explained. « We handle everything from providing necessary legal documents to scheduling doctor appointments.”
Yirmibeş added, “Even the police rely on us when they’re searching for someone. Our role goes beyond official duties – we often find ourselves privy to family secrets. »
As Turkey’s local elections approach, citizens are preparing to head to the polls on Sunday to elect their local representatives, including muhtars, who hold the lowest elected offices.
Though less visible than mayoral candidates, muhtars connect local residents to authorities and vice versa. They have been part of the political system since late Ottoman times, and while their influence remains on the neighborhood level, their prominence has grown under the presidency of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The combination of Erdoğan’s spotlight on the position and improved working conditions have increased the post’s popularity in recent years. And while the digitization of official procedures has diminished the need for muhtars, many told Turkey recap they remained irreplaceable custodians of public life.
Political sociologist Elise Massicard, the author of Street-Level Governing: Negotiating the State in Urban Turkey, said she believes muhtars are « the oldest institution” that still exists Turkey, adding Erdoğan is aware of the power behind their roles.
« Muhtars have always been important locally for the residents, » Massicard told Turkey recap. But, according to her, this importance wasn’t always reflected publicly.
« What happened in the last years, especially after Erdoğan was elected, [was that] he gave them more visibility and importance,” she added.
When ex-Prime Minister Erdoğan was first elected President in 2014, it was the first time people in Turkey went to the polls to elect their president.
The post required not being a member of any political party back then, and Erdoğan quickly formed a bond with the only other elected-but-party-less group in the political system: muhtars.
Palace to neighborhood
Since Jan. 2015, Erdoğan has increased the position’s prestige through regular muhtar meetings at the Presidential Complex in Ankara (as pictured above). The Turkish leader also improved the muhtars’ working and payment conditions, political scientist Can Kakışım told Turkey recap.
Between 2002 and 2019, muhtars salaries increased more than 20 times. In March 2024, a muhtar’s monthly salary was 17,002 to 18,500 TL (528-575 USD), with the lower number equivalent to the current minimum wage.
« The salary is not bad at all when you consider the small workload, » Kakışım said. « With its improved status, it has become an ideal target for both young and old people, so much so that people started conducting serious campaigns. »
In Karabük, a small Black Sea province, Murat Toprak is one of the muhtar candidates conducting a ‘serious’ election campaign. The 31-year-old coffee shop owner is running for office in the İsmetpaşa neighborhood of Karabük’s Yenice district.
Toprak shares posts about his campaign promises on Facebook regularly. Joined by his family, relatives and friends, he conducts neighborhood house visits to learn more about voters’ problems and wishes. He also has a campaign team distributing fliers around the neighborhood.
While he is an enthusiastic campaigner, Toprak also accepts the position has lost much of its importance since the 2008 introduction of e-devlet, a state-run website offering direct access to a wide range of government services. Before e-devlet, citizens had to apply for legal documents through muhtars.
« To be honest, people don’t need muhtars anymore, » Toprak told Turkey recap. « They can do everything via e-devlet. But muhtars still hold a mediator role. They are like the seniors of the neighborhood. »
Personal database
Massicard, the political sociologist, believes that while e-devlet has a database of people, muhtars have another dimension of knowledge.
« Muhtars’ knowledge is experiential. They know real people, not data people, » Massicard said. « State institutions, officials and Erdoğan use muhtars because of this knowledge that they have of people. »
According to Massicard, Erdoğan has a policy of including the muhtars in governance and tying them to state institutions. However, muhtars have also become more dependent on Erdoğan as the Justice and Development Party (AKP) created alternative methods for aid distribution over the years.
« Muhtars are important as a bridge. Yet they don’t have any resources of their own, » Massicard said. « Especially in urban zones, [they] have no budget or they can’t control any resources.”
Still, she said muhtars channel resources to citizens and information to the authorities, including the belediye [municipality] and kaymakamlık [district governorate].
District governors are appointed by the government in Turkey, and most of the time, this means they are in line with AKP policies. On the other hand, a significant number of municipalities are run by opposition parties.
« I sometimes hear things like ‘all muhtars work with the AKP’, and I think it is too simple. It’s not like this, » Massicard told Turkey recap. « There is this tension between the political orientation and the fact that they depend on several authorities to get resources … to make their people happy. »
Another muhtar from Yenice’s Kalaycılar neighborhood, Mehmet Karadöngel, has 1,200 constituents. The 51-year-old said he knows every one of them and he remembers those who passed away during his time in office.
“Seventy of our people died while I was the muhtar,” he said. “I attended every one of their funerals. I helped with the preparations, went to the cemetery and stayed with the family.”
Karadöngel, who also owns a stationary shop in the neighborhood, said he’d continue providing the same services even though he won’t get the popular vote in this election.
“You don’t have the opportunity to leave this environment and say you won’t serve anymore,” he said.
“[Muhtarlık] is 200 years old,” Massicard concluded. “It is the only institution that stayed for such a long time from the Ottoman Empire. That says something about its importance.”