Local elections and political parties

The efficient use of the country's scarce resources and the provision of services in an efficient and balanced manner across our country have become the most important agenda item for our nation. However, while the discussion should be about who uses national resources efficiently and who provides local resources for the public good in the best way without falling into waste and corruption, the debate is instead focused on which party will win.

What needs to be discussed here is who, meaning which party, will correctly exercise the right to the local budget?

Which party will implement local democracy, social, developmental, and populist municipalism in accordance with this right to a local budget, and who will provide more employment for the public? This needs to be discussed, and the following questions must be asked:

• Who allocates more budget per capita?

• Who increases the assets of the local population?

• Who increases the local population's share of budget expenditures?

• Who increases the equity capital of municipalities?

• Who causes the municipality to incur more or less debt?

• Who increases the assets of the municipality?

• Who collects local taxes correctly?

• Who can provide jobs to the local population regardless of party affiliation?

• Who hires based on justice, equality, and merit, regardless of party affiliation?

• Who invests the taxes collected by municipalities without causing waste and corruption?

A new administrative and financial sharing law must be enacted before the local elections. This should be the priority task of the parties right now. If this law is not passed, the perception that "if you elect from the ruling party, you will get more services, more investment, and more employment" will cause serious unfair competition among the parties.

Although providing local governments with revenue sources proportional to their duties is established as a constitutional obligation, this is not being done. If we want to accept democracy as a fundamental way of life, we must comply with this constitutional provision.

If the central government transfers resources to local governments in accordance with their duties specified in the constitution, the migration experienced in the name of urbanization will come to an end. Otherwise, we are doomed to live in large villages called cities.

A significant portion of the basic needs of people settled in a specific area is related to local governments. In various public opinion polls conducted, the goods and services demanded by individuals, especially those belonging to local governments, occupy a significant place.

The era of municipalities that only build parks, gardens, roads, and cemeteries is over, and it must be over. Even our smallest municipality must provide and implement municipal services in accordance with contemporary norms by meeting the needs of the local population and every individual living there. Today, municipalities must account for at least 60% of public employment. Municipalities must use public resources for the benefit and employment of the public instead of waste and corruption. Today, in our country, municipalities cover 90% of their income from the shares they receive from the central government. This is not sustainable.

The central government sends the share allocated from general budget revenues to local governments every month. The fundamental problem is that local governments have become dependent on the central government, and 80%-90% of their income is covered by shares allocated from general budget revenues. If the central government did not send these shares allocated from the general budget for one month, 99% of the municipalities would not be able to pay their employees' wages that month. This situation is not sustainable; therefore, a new administrative and financial sharing law must be enacted before the election. Otherwise, local governments, i.e., municipalities, are forced to work like a unit dependent on the central government.