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According to a Sabah newspaper report, municipalities governed by opposition parties in Turkey face substantial debts to the Social Security Institution (SGK), totaling billions of liras. While municipalities under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) also have unpaid debts, opposition-run municipalities, particularly those led by the Republican People’s Party (CHP), are reported to be significantly more indebted.
Labor and Social Security Minister Vedat Işıkhan first highlighted this issue before the March 31 municipal elections, which saw major gains for the CHP. Işıkhan specifically pointed to the CHP-led municipality of Ankara as having the highest debt.
The Sabah report indicates that municipal companies, rather than the cities themselves, are responsible for the TL 96 billion ($2.9 billion) in premium debt. Of this, CHP-run municipalities owe TL 79 billion. The AK Party has frequently criticized CHP-run municipalities for mismanagement and inefficiency, alleging that resources are wasted rather than directed towards enhancing public services.
The report reveals that all 411 CHP-run municipalities collectively owe TL 65.1 billion, accounting for 68% of the total municipal debt, despite the CHP managing only 29% of Turkey’s municipalities. Notably, 16 out of the top 20 municipalities with the highest SGK debts are under CHP administration, including 39 out of the top 50.
CHP operates 35 of Turkey’s 81 metropolitan municipalities, with these accumulating a total debt of TL 26.2 billion, which is 2.5 times the debt of the 46 other provincial and metropolitan municipalities combined. Fourteen municipalities owe at least TL 1 billion each to the SGK, with 11 of these managed by the CHP, amounting to TL 26.6 billion.
Among these, Istanbul’s municipality, led by CHP’s Ekrem Imamoğlu since 2019, owes TL 62.9 million in total debt and TL 3.2 billion in SGK premiums. Işıkhan criticized the redirection of financial resources away from debt repayment, calling for restructuring and alternative payment plans to address the issue.
In recent months, the issue of mounting debts in opposition-run municipalities has intensified, with the Turkish government exploring measures to address the fiscal challenges faced by these local administrations.