What person in their right mind would want the role of Muhtar in Turkey in the 21st century?

I mean – they have no decision-making authority, no public budget to dispose of and receive a minimum civil-service salary for their efforts. Meanwhile they have over a thousand local citizens to deal with – each with their own problems, gripes, ideas and priorities.

It was not always this way.

The literal translation of Muhtar is “Headman”. The Ottoman Empire initially established the Muhtar system for rural areas in the 1830s and the Republic of Turkey kept the network and expanded it to the country's cities in 1944. Historically, the Muhtar would be the mayor of a community with significant local powers and budgets. With the increasing urbanisation of many parts of Turkey, this aspect of the Muhtar’s role was taken on by local and provincial government and the Muhtar (often a retired volunteer) was merely responsible for local electoral record keeping. Following the 2015 general election, President Erdoğan brought the Muhtars (there are 50,000 or so in Turkey!) under the Ministry of Internal Affairs and – at last – provided them with a basic salary.

So, back to the original question: who on earth would want to be a Muhtar? Well, at the election on 31st March 2024, here in Turunç, – with its tiny voting population of around 1200 souls – 5 (yes five!) local candidates sought that role. The eventual winner, with over 40% of the vote on an 88% turnout, was local construction worker Mehmet Demir. If you have visited the village, you will know him and his familiar yellow JCB vehicle. He’s the guy who delicately and skilfully manoeuvres the boats through the narrow village streets and into / out of the harbour.

We meet up in Tapas Mapas Bar on a cool May evening. Musti Can (one of Mehmet’s volunteer helpers) is alongside as translator.

I put on my serious Andrew Neil face (I can’t do the Scottish accent) – “Mehmet Demir” I ask “why did you stand for the role of Muhtar in Turunç?”. Musti translates. Mehmet considers for a while and comes back with just three words “Turunç deserves better” he replies. I relax and dispense with the political journalist nonsense - this is going to be an interesting conversation.

Mehmet is a family man with a demanding job. He does not underestimate the challenges he faces as Muhtar over the coming five years. He served two terms as a local councillor when the village had its own mayor and council. He understands the convoluted nature of local government in Turkey with its regional (Muğla) and urban (Marmaris) layers and with a national government of a different political party. He believes that a small village like Turunç gets overlooked in favour of larger locations when it comes to even basic services. As Muhtar, he believes he can make a difference representing his community – lobbying, advocating and persuading elected bodies, who have the funds and powers, to hear and respond to the needs of Turunç.

Of the many ambitions he set out in his recent manifesto, we focus on three which he says are his immediate priorities – and remember he has been in post for just over a month:

Sewage and water treatment

The population of Turunç is growing, housing of all types is being built. The current water treatment plant aims to clean the water before discharge into the sea using a biological process. Guess what hotels and pools have in common? – they use chemical cleaning agents. Guess what degrades the performance of biological water treatment – right! Now while building planning approval is a Marmaris council role, water/sewage treatment is a provincial council decision in Muğla. See the disconnect? Mehmet sees himself as responsible for voicing Turunç’s concerns. He has a monthly meeting in Muğla with all the Muhtars from the region (over 300 of them) and regular meetings with Marmaris council. He appreciates that this is a long-term campaign but, he says, if no-one speaks up – little is likely to happen.

Cleaner Turunç

In the UK, rubbish segregation and recycling is now ingrained in our behaviour. This has come about through a combination of education/publicity and penalties. Sadly, Turkey is some way behind. Here in Turunç, the problem is as basic as the number and location of bins and the virtual absence of any recycling locations. Mehmet is lobbying the Marmaris council to put this issue high on their agenda. Changing attitudes will of course take time but Musti assures me that environmental issues feature prominently in schools these days. With a new young Mayor in Marmaris, this seems an obvious “quick win” which should be fairly low-cost and easily implemented.

Safer streets

No – not streetlights and muggings – Turunç remains a very safe environment for all ages and for locals and visitors alike. What concerns Mehmet is inconsiderate and possibly illegal parking of vehicles and boat trailers and the state of some of the pavements particularly the lack of consideration for people with mobility issues. Most of the village streets are the responsibility of Marmaris council although bizarrely some ‘belong’ to the Muğla province … only in Turkey! While work of this nature could be costly and take some time, Mehmet feels that there ought to be some steps that can be easily put in place and is working to get this onto the council’s agenda and into their budgets.

It’s after 11pm – Tapas Mapas is deserted. I ask Mehmet if I can take a quick photo for this article. He agrees then apologises for not looking his best. In fact, he looks fine - if understandably a little weary. I know he was up before 7am this morning moving a boat past my apartment (his ‘real’ job). He has to be up early tomorrow to co-ordinate Marmaris council workers, unfamiliar with Turunç, who are visiting for canal and street works (his ‘Muhtar’ role).

The evening is not over! In walks one of his constituents to ask Mehmet to use his influence with the Marmaris council to improve the rubbish and street parking situations. These are two of the topics we have just been discussing as priorities. That tells me that our Muhtar is well-plugged into the heartbeat of this village. Mehmet listens politely and assures the person that these are high up on his agenda.

And I think again – who on earth would actually want this job?

We shake hands, say goodnight, and promise to meet again one year on to see how things turn out: I’m really looking forward to that.