The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has revolutionized the way municipalities in Türkiye work, the party’s Chairperson of Local Administrations Mehmet Özhaseki declared at the "21st Century Municipalism: Local Administrations Summit" held in Istanbul on Monday.

"The AK Party has been in power for 20 years and offered tremendous service in every field," Özhaseki asserted as he spoke as an exclusive guest at a panel titled "The AK Party Model during Turkish Municipalism’s Development and the 2024 Local Elections" at the event organized by A Haber.

Özhaseki attributed today’s concept of municipalism in Türkiye to the election of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) Mayor in 1994.

"President Erdoğan launched the notion of ‘service municipalism’ in 1994," Özhaseki began by saying. "The AK Party was founded with the intention of always serving the people, never discriminating against anyone or making up excuses and that is how we have been successful. We have developed wonderful instances of service municipalism and once AK Party came into power, bigger projects began to materialize across the provinces," he noted.

Erdoğan was first elected as mayor of Istanbul in 1994 as the candidate of the Welfare Party (RP). When the party was later dissolved, Erdoğan went on to leave the party to found the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in 2001.

"At the time, our group faced countless challenges and we were repeatedly hindered in our efforts," Özhaseki recalled. "It was impossible to secure a license for our projects. I can’t even remember the number of lawsuits that were filed against me. They simply wouldn’t let us work," the AK Party chair said.

Despite mocking by the mainstream media, Erdoğan won the election with over 25% of the popular vote in 1994. While he was in office, he tackled many chronic problems Istanbul was facing, including water shortages, pollution and traffic chaos. Under the center-right politics of the then-ruling True Path Party (DYP) headed by Prime Minister Tansu Çiller, Erdoğan’s initiatives had to go through major roadblocks at every turn.

"But when the AK Party came to power, all our municipality mayors carried out better works. Superstructures were granted licenses and the infrastructure was finished," Özhaseki said and added: "The AK Party has put forth a distinct model, which we refer to as ‘service municipalism.’"

Before 1994, the AK Party chair said, there was an "ideological attitude" in the way Turkish municipalities worked. "When AK Party took office, we started an era where we obtained licenses for our projects and initiatives. We have established cities that rival Europe," he said.

Özhaseki went on to explain that the definition of local administrations first came about during the declaration of the Edict of Gülhane, which was a proclamation by the Ottoman Sultan Abdülmecid I in 1839 that launched the Tanzimat period of reforms and reorganization in the Ottoman Empire.

Özhaseki continued: "History of municipalism is relatively fresh in Türkiye. As the 1960s and 1970s rolled around, we had to deal with the ideologies and actions of leftist administrations. Instead of serving the people, municipalities operated with a 'how do we use people' mindset. An unhealthy and nameless structure emerged. This was a saddening incident. Some dates mark turning points in history. No one can ever forget 1946, for instance, when the multiparty system was adopted. The year 1994 is the revolutionary date in municipalism. In 1994, our president set out with the goal of serving Istanbul. We were adamant that we would never discriminate against anyone, whether they were ‘leftists or rightists,’ Turkish, Kurdish, Sunni or Alevis. We never offered excuses, which is how we succeeded."

In the 2019 local election, Türkiye’s main opposition steered by the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good Party (IP) won the majority vote in some metropolitan cities, including Istanbul and Ankara.

"Since then, there have been serious issues in cities like Istanbul and Ankara," Özhaseki highlighted. "Projects that were launched under the AK Party were terminated; we saw ‘not-groundbreaking’ ceremonies or metro constructions that were shut down. Citizens trust us, they vote for us. Why would they do that? Having principles, of course, helps greatly. AK Party serves and works. People see this and appreciate it," he said.

In contrast to the AK Party's success, new forms of municipalism have started to appear recently, according to Özhaseki. "A municipalism that is more reliant on lies and social media winds, or what we can call ‘perception municipalism.’ They maintain the appearance by pretending to serve while actually failing to do so," Özhaseki said and concluded: "When will this be over? It's about to end. All of those perceptions are unstable and fleeting."

'Erdoğan wrote the book on municipal service'

Ahead of Özhaseki’s session, mayors of various cities across Türkiye sat for the main panel of the event. Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality Mayor and the head of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye (TBB) Fatma Şahin, Ankara's Mamak municipality Mayor and AK Party Ankara Deputy Chair Murat Köse, and Istanbul district Esenler’s Mayor and AK Party Istanbul Deputy Chair Tevfik Göksu were among keynote speakers.

Gaziantep Mayor Şahin began by declaring that "development starts from the ground." She underscored that cities with local development get to advance and "the seeds President Erdoğan sowed years ago have grown into an important model of municipalism."

She noted that local administrations that manage information, time and finance well are bound to become successful. "While the world undergoes a period of chaos, Türkiye comes to the forefront through its practice of next-generation municipalism," she said.

Şahin listed various projects her administration has implemented in Gaziantep, including a master plan for transport, biodiversity and self-sufficiency.

"The city is a mirror of its people and the people are a mirror of their city," she remarked.

Mamak Mayor Köse too drew a stark contrast between the pre-and post-1994 understanding of municipalism, noting that the capital Ankara had to combat irregular settlements and squatting starting in the 1950s as a result of uncontrolled migration.

"Some 304 municipalities came to be managed by the Welfare Party at the time Mr. Erdoğan was elected mayor," Köse informed. "From 1994 onwards, chronic problems were resolved and shanty towns began evolving into modern cities. This is the kind of tradition we come from," he said.

Despite serving a relatively short term as mayor, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan wrote the book on our current model of municipalism, Köse proclaimed.

The secret to this business, he revealed, is the dedication to the peace and welfare of the people. "We continue to fight with our leader committed to his cause and unsung heroes mobilized around him," Köse said.

The nexus of information that was born in 2002 has swept across the whole nation, he added. "Türkiye is now a country that not merely uses but also manufactures technology," he said.

Esenler Mayor Göksu put his emphasis on "healthy cities," quoting early Islamic philosopher Al-Farabi, known in the West as Alpharabius, as saying: "A healthy city resembles a human’s body; it works like a human body."

"Local administrations used to represent the grim face of the government. Now they have become sources of compassion," Göksu said.

"We’re now working on the social structure of municipalism. People will focus on the fulfillment of their needs as individual municipalism is prioritized," he concluded.

Addressing the second panel of the day were Erzurum Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Mehmet Sekmen, Malatya Metropolitan Municipality Selahattin Gürkan, and professor Mustafa Ilıcalı.

The trio spoke of the importance of investing in infrastructure amid the increasing effects of climate change and rising traffic, rendering Anatolian cities more appealing in a bid to curb migration to metropolises, and boosting local exports for better economic opportunities.

"In our mode of municipalism, citizens receive service from their local administrations. In the past when we first took on the job, there was no water and waste would pile up on the streets. Under the guidance of President Erdoğan, a new mentality came to develop," Erzurum Mayor Sekmen said.

The event continued with other panels on various local administrations’ ongoing projects about cultivating youth and education, social activities, environmental efforts, and building smart cities through digitalization and innovative practices.