Turkey's opposition towns accumulate billions in social security debt

Some 411 municipalities run by the Republican People’s Party (CHP) across Turkey have accumulated a total of TL 116 billion ($3.29 billion) in debts to the Social Security Institution (SGK), a report has revealed from the Turkish newspaper Sabah.

Some 1,402 municipalities in Turkey’s 81 provinces owe a total of TL 160 billion to SGK in premium payments, 70 percent of which belong to the CHP-run administration, Sabah wrote.

In contrast, some 541 municipalities run by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) nationwide owe 25 percent of the SGK premium debt.

With 9.8 billion TL, West Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Turkey’s third largest city, tops the list of indebted municipal administrations led by CHP Mayor Cemil Tugay, elected in local elections of 2024.

Izmir is followed by the capital Ankara, with 8.7 billion TL, led by Mansur Yavaş, and Istanbul, with 6.4 billion TL, administered by Ekrem Imamoğlu. The two mayors have governed Türkiye’s two largest cities since 2019.

According to Sabah, Ankara Municipality had a total of 200 million TL in debt, but no premium debt to SGK when AK Party Mayor Melih Gökçek handed it over to Yavaş.

Similarly, when Imamoğlu took over Istanbul, the city only had a debt of 70 million TL. Imamoğlu’s office saw debts increase 100-fold in five years, reaching TL 6.5 billion in December 2024.

Debts are accumulated by municipal companies, which are considered legal entities belonging directly to the municipality. The heads of municipal companies are directly appointed and instructed by the mayors. If a debt remains unpaid for a certain period of time, the mayor is aware of this.

Refusing to pay the debt could even lead to the confiscation of the mayor’s personal assets, Sabah wrote.

Municipalities, under the law, were granted the right to restructure their debts for up to 120 months, including 36 months of installments for those unable to pay.

The continued negligence of municipal administrations has sparked a public debate on the initiation of confiscation proceedings, which would only cover the accounts of municipal companies.

Likewise, the Ministry of Social Security blocked deposit accounts and business accounts of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipalities, Ankara, West Izmir, South Adana and Mersin, as well as the Şişli district of Istanbul, due to debts to the SGK.

The AKP party often accuses CHP-run municipalities of wasting resources instead of improving public services and of economic incompetence. Opposition municipalities were also criticized for nepotism following local elections on March 31, when it emerged that several mayors had appointed their closest relatives to senior town hall positions.

The CHP’s Istanbul and Ankara municipalities are also currently under investigation for “illegal” excessive spending on festive events. The Turkish public was outraged by the news that the Ankara city administration paid Ebru Gündeş, a prominent pop-folk singer, a staggering 69 million TL for a concert marking Republic Day on October 29.

Although Yavaş quickly dismissed the claim, authorities said they were investigating suspected profiteering.