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Muhtars, elected representatives of villages and neighborhoods, have been around since Ottoman times, but only since 2015, they have their own day. This post, unique to Türkiye, is the lowest in the democratic ladder, but for many muhtars, they are the cornerstone of the democratic order in the country, which had its first truly multiparty election just in 1950.
In Istanbul, a small crowd gathered to hold a ceremony to mark the day at the city’s Taksim Square. Their celebration was low-key, but deputy chair of Istanbul Muhtars Federation Seval Özkan said the post had a deep-rooted history and the republic’s founder, Atatürk, himself described muhtars as the foundation of democracy.
Muhtars trace their history to the reign of the Ottoman Sultan Mahmut II, who ordered their appointment in two districts of Istanbul in 1829, for the micromanagement of neighborhoods and quarters at the Ottoman capital. After switching to a republic in the 20th century, Türkiye ensured the continuation and prevalence of the post in its constitution, and since then, muhtars became part of local administrations, though without effective powers like governors or mayors. Instead, they served as intermediaries between the public and local administrations, primarily issuing legal documents such as residence paperwork in neighborhoods and villages. In other times, they served as “elders” of the villages and neighborhoods, mediating local disputes and acting as the voice of neighborhoods in relaying demands for public services such as new roads to authorities.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has sought to elevate the status of muhtars over the past two decades, introducing improvements to their salaries as a starting point. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who carved out an image as a man of the people, championed muhtars as a bridge to the wider public. It was Erdoğan who instructed new laws to improve the rights of muhtars and designate a day dedicated to them. The president also regularly hosted muhtars at the Presidential Complex, which he described as “the nation’s house,” praising their role to take care of neighborhoods and villages.
Eighty-year-old Emel Çelik is among the oldest muhtars and has retained the post in Zeytinlik, a neighborhood in Istanbul’s Bakırköy district, since 1984. Çelik plans not to run again in the next election for muhtars scheduled for 2029. After 41 years, Çelik says she became a part of the family for every household in the neighborhood. “People view me as a sister or mother. They told me everything they had complained about in the neighborhood. I wouldn’t run again in the last election, but people insisted on my candidacy,” she told Anadolu Agency (AA) on Sunday.
The daughter of a muhtar, Çelik succeeded him in 1984 at the age of 39. She has won nine elections since then and boasts of being “Sister Emel” of the neighborhood. “My father encouraged me to run when he decided to leave the post after 17 years. I like the people in the neighborhood, so I decided to give it a try. I won against four men running for the post in 1984 and since then, I have been here,” Çelik said in her humble office adorned with pictures of Atatürk. “Hearing people’s complaints and helping them makes me happy. Some people find it interesting that I still serve at this age and congratulate me. But at some point, I have to quit,” she said.
Typically positions held by men in villages, as a rare exception, Esra Polat decided to defy this male domination. The mother of four beat her two male rivals in 2020 and since then, has run the Universite Neighborhood of Battalgazi, a district of the eastern province of Malatya. With a population of 10,000, the neighborhood is bigger than some small towns and was only granted the neighborhood status five years ago.
“This is a new neighborhood and has its shortcomings. I am trying to serve the people as much as I can. This is not an executive post. It is rather like a ‘request post,’” she said, adding that people tell her what they need in their neighborhood and she contacts the relevant authorities to seek assistance. “It is very valuable to give a voice to people,” Polat told Ihlas News Agency (IHA) on Sunday.
