The article introduces the legal basis of Turkish municipalism from the late Ottoman Empire until the last law change in 2012. It then gives an overview of municipal practice and shows the similarities and differences between the ruling party AKP and the main opposition party CHP in realising the legal requirements. The article concludes with some suggestions – albeit from a purely municipal perspective – as to why the CHP seems to be have been more successful in greater municipality elections recently.

Charlotte Joppien is managing director at the Türkei Europa Zentrum at University of Hamburg, and a researcher at the administrative court in Hamburg. Her dissertation on municipal practice and party organisation in Turkey was awarded the dissertation award of the Society for Turkology, Ottoman and Turkish Studies and was published in 2018 Municipal Politics in Turkey: Local Government and Party Organisation (Routledge).