New Turkish mayors weaponize transparency against wasteful spending
Turkey’s new mayors are using transparency efforts to undermine AKP-majority governing bodies while protecting their work from obstruction.
The Ankara municipality livestreamed a public tender for the purchase of steel pipes to be used in the city sewage system on June 24, and reports indicate that 160,00-300,000 people tuned in to watch the routine government function.
The broadcast was the first of its kind in Turkey and comes as part of a pledge for greater transparency from newly elected mayors with the nation’s main opposition party, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), which won a string of victories in recent municipal elections and the Istanbul election do-over.
