Turkey has been governed under a competitive authoritarian regime for almost a decade. The incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) has held power for the last 22 years, with the past decade showing a shift towards authoritarianism. Scholars believe that the democratic regime in Turkey collapsed in 2015, when elections ceased to be free and fair. The level playing field was altered to align with the incumbent’s agenda.
Until 2019, the incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) held majority of the local power. The 2019 elections secured shock victories for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) in Turkey’s major metropolitan areas. These included winning control of both Ankara and Istanbul, Turkey’s capital and largest cities respectively. The İstanbul mayoral election decision of CHP candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, was disputed for two weeks after the vote. After numerous recounts, electoral complaints, legal disputes carried out by the AKP, İmamoğlu was sworn in as mayor following a second referendum.
The mayor of İstanbul has experienced several challenges during his tenure. These include legal actions and bureaucratic hamstringing attempts limiting his administrative and financial powers in İstanbul, which are exercised to limit his effectiveness and influence over the population. Among the legal challenges, he was sentenced to prison and imposed a political ban for allegedly insulting election officials in a speech following his 2019 victory. He was also accused of rigging tender bids during his time as the mayor of the town Beylikdüzü in İstanbul. Financial hurdles have further damaged his administration, through budget cuts, as funds previously allocated to Istanbul’s municipality under Erdoğan’s ruling AK Party were redirected or reduced after İmamoğlu’s electoral win. In addition, state run banks refused to provide İmamoğlu loans to fund his municipality projects, and the Presidency of Strategy and Budget denied permission for him to secure funds from abroad. Despite these anti-democratic practices, İmamoğlu was able to secure another victory in the 2023 local elections, reaffirming his popular support in İstanbul.
Under İmamoğlu’s term, the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) has distinguished itself with public-focused investments aimed at improving the quality of life for residents. Among its notable initiatives are projects supporting women’s employment, cultural and arts programs, public transportation, social housing, and the expansion of libraries and creches. Since 2019, IBB has established 103 new creches, named as Istanbul Children’s Activity Centers. These centers provide early childhood education and care (ECEC) services for children aged 3-6, aspiring to create an equal and safe learning environment.
The creches are especially beneficial for families from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. By offering accessible childcare, they address systemic inequalities and enable women to join the workforce, contributing to household income and reducing economic disparities. This initiative aligns with the OECD’s recommendations for increasing women’s workforce participation through degenderization and defamilialization practices, where caregiving responsibilities are redistributed beyond traditional family structures. These centers not only ease the burden on families but also create opportunities for women’s economic mobility.
These creches have created quite the debate between the opposition (CHP) and the incumbency (AKP), reflecting the broader power struggle between the two parties and revealing how public policy in Turkey has become a battleground for political control. The AKP, through central government officials, has criticized the creches by questioning the İBB’s authority to operate them. Minister of Family and Social Services argued that childcare services fall under the central government’s jurisdiction, suggesting that the İBB’s initiative was not only outside its remit but potentially illegal. Similarly, Minister of National Education accused the İBB of violating national education standards, further alleging that the creches were part of a politically motivated effort to erode central authority. These criticisms appear less concerned with the merits of the childcare program itself and more focused on delegitimizing İmamoğlu’s administration, a recurring tactic employed by the AKP to weaken opposition-held municipalities.
By attacking İmamoğlu’s creches through legal and institutional mechanisms, the AKP limits the ability of Istanbul’s municipal government to function autonomously. This erosion of autonomy undermines the principle of democratic representation, as citizens’ votes for local leaders are effectively overlooked when the chosen leaders cannot exercise their mandate. When central authorities overstep their bounds, it diminishes citizens’ trust in the electoral process and makes local governance an empty formality, rather than a meaningful component of democratic participation.
This conflict highlights how governance in Turkey is frequently influenced by polarity through partisan rivalries, with central authorities using their power to limit the effectiveness of opposition-led initiatives. Instead of fostering collaboration to address pressing social issues, such as affordable childcare, the AKP has leveraged state mechanisms to constrain local governance. This approach not only politicizes essential public services but also marginalizes the democratic autonomy of locally elected officials, further deepening Turkey’s democratic backsliding.
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