Given the state of local administrations in Kurdish provinces, municipalities suffered severe structural and social destruction during the two previous terms when state-appointed trustees were imposed.
Today, however, a new phase is unfolding. The Peace and Democratic Society process initiated by Abdullah Öcalan’s call envisions a democratic reconstruction that begins at the local level. In this context, Mustafa Avcı, a member of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) Local Administration Coordination Board, spoke to ANF and assessed the role of municipalities and local politics within this new vision.
In previous periods, the appointment of state trustees caused severe damage to municipalities. What were the structural and social consequences of this destruction?
Trusteeships are, above all, the forcible usurpation of the people’s will through various coercive methods. In public perception, it is understood as a political coup. At its core, a coup means suspending democracy. Wherever it is applied, it creates disenfranchisement, mistrust and hopelessness in society. This is generally true; however, among the patriotic Kurdish people, every such intervention has become a reason to intensify the struggle. During trusteeship periods, society becomes more determined, more attached to its values and more inclined toward organized resistance.
After both the first and second rounds of trusteeship, our party’s vote share increased in every subsequent local election. This is the clearest evidence.
With the amendments to Municipal Law No. 5393, trustees were made completely unaccountable for their actions. Because of this, they act with total ease. And since they are appointed bureaucrats, not elected administrators, they do not work with the people in mind. They focus on satisfying the authority that appointed them or the partisan and kinship networks surrounding that authority. Local resources are used recklessly to enrich these networks. In essence, this is plunder and the darkening of the city’s future.
Because trustees operate strictly according to the political priorities of the central government, they do not allocate local budgets to strengthen production, such as supporting agriculture or livestock. On the contrary, they detach people from productive life, force migration from rural areas to cities, push communities into dependency and later use social aid packages, micro-credits or precarious jobs to control them. Village-guard recruitment is often used as one such tool.
Trusteeships cause psychological and sociological harm, but also severe ecological and economic destruction. Every project is approached with the aim of generating profit and expanding patronage networks. Cities have turned into concrete masses. Green space per person has fallen below international standards. Nature has been destroyed at every level.
Economically, because they were certain we would regain the municipalities, they deliberately pushed them into debt to restrict our ability to provide services. For example, in Van Metropolitan Municipality, the first trustee took over a debt-free budget from us but left behind 1.1 billion liras of debt in 2019. The second trustee left 8 billion liras of debt in the 2024 elections. Despite all this, they produced no visible service for the benefit of the public, the city or society.
Municipalities were once again turned into employment hubs and filled with the children of partisan and kinship networks. According to existing laws, only one-third of a municipality’s budget may be allocated to personnel salaries, yet in many of the municipalities we took over from the trustees, this ratio has exceeded two-thirds. If we had done this, investigations and prosecutions would have been opened immediately, and excess payments would have been reclaimed. Many of our co-mayors have court rulings against them on this basis, including cases that have gone to enforcement for repayment under so-called ‘public loss’ charges.
Because trustees are not held accountable for anything they do, they act with complete ease. The situation has deteriorated to such an extent that many municipalities allocate almost their entire income to staff salaries, leaving no resources available to produce or deliver services.
In addition to this, due to the pressure and restrictive policies of the central government and the savings circulars it has issued, we cannot access new credit or take on new borrowing. As if this were not enough, the debts created by the trustees are now being deducted directly from our entitlements by the State Bank of Provinces, entirely outside our control. Whatever remains is transferred to us, and in most places, it is only enough to cover personnel salaries. In such conditions, there is neither capacity nor strength left to produce services.
Naturally, our people, who were deprived of services or subjected to discrimination under the trusteeship regime, now expect services from us and want their grievances addressed. When this is not possible under current constraints, tensions can arise between the municipality and the public.
Employment is also a significant challenge. When we take over municipal administrations, society understandably expects us to solve unemployment through the municipality. But when we say ‘There is a personnel surplus; no new hiring is possible,’ disappointment arises and attempts are made to undermine public support. These are fundamental problems that we must overcome, and we are working to do so.
Another point is that as soon as trustees were appointed, they targeted the service areas we had created for women, youth, children and disadvantaged groups. Institutions were either dismantled, shut down or redirected away from their purpose. Likewise, multilingual municipal services and cultural programs were targeted.
Overall, trusteeship as a regime is plunder, oppression, usurpation of will and the systematic destruction of a city’s future on every level.
Abdullah Öcalan’s “Call for a Democratic Society and Peace” has initiated a new process. In this context, what do you think is the most effective role that local politics and municipalities can play in building society?
Democracies, by their very nature, derive their strength from carrying the will of the people from the grassroots into collective governance. Their importance comes from this very essence. Democracy begins at the local level. Unless villages and cities democratize, no matter how many central institutions or governing structures are created above, they cannot democratize on their own.
The Peace and Democratic Society Process that began with the 27 February call has created significant opportunities for peace, democracy and organized struggle. Previously, even holding a simple press statement was nearly impossible due to the suffocating nature of the regime, yet with this process, some space has been opened. Before 27 February, our municipalities were being seized regularly with trustee appointments almost every two weeks. With the process, these appointments were halted.
In this changing atmosphere, local politics and local administrations, especially municipalities, will and must fulfil their responsibilities. Our municipalities already operate with a democratic, ecological, participatory, transparent and women-liberatory approach that stands as an alternative to classical municipal governance. They have already assumed responsibility for building a democratic society and are expanding their role within this new process.
As the fundamental organs of local self-government, the democratic municipal movement, village and neighbourhood communes, cooperatives, broad civil society organizations, human rights platforms, women’s liberation initiatives, ecological networks and youth-led organizing together form a large social fabric of democratic society. Strengthening this fabric is essential for the process.
In this context, through participatory democracy and participatory budgeting practices, we continue to provide all other core municipal services as well. And with every service delivered, we remain mindful of the democratic political ethos that contributes to building a democratic society. We try to involve society in municipal administration as much as possible.
In decision-making, planning, implementation and oversight, we work to include all organized and unorganized social dynamics. We are establishing and operating the necessary organizational mechanisms for this purpose. Ultimately, the success of these efforts will determine whether democratic community life becomes a cultural reality and whether this awareness becomes widespread.