Preparing for local elections in Turkey

Short answer: under the Constitution, local elections in Turkey are held every five years; the last local election took place on 31 March 2024, and the next regular local election is expected in March 2029. The exact date is announced by the Supreme Election Council (YSK). Preparation should start months before the candidacy process: if the identity, website, candidate film, project content and field plan are ready before the campaign starts, production does not stall in the busiest period.

When is the local election?

In Turkey, local government elections, that is, elections for mayor, municipal council members, provincial council members and muhtars, are held every five years under Article 127 of the Constitution. The last local election was held on 31 March 2024. Accordingly, the next regular local election is expected in March 2029; 25 March 2029 is the date most often cited in the press. The exact date and election timetable are announced by the Supreme Election Council; the YSK usually publishes the timetable at the start of the election year. The campaign plan should be finalised once this timetable is published.

When should preparation start?

Once the election timetable is announced, the candidacy, application and campaign periods follow each other quickly. That is why communication preparation needs to start before the timetable. In practice, there are three phases:

• Preparation phase: message, priorities, identity, domain name, website framework, review of social media accounts
• Candidacy phase: candidate film, portraits, project content, team and approval flow
• Campaign phase: field filming, weekly social media plan, event invitations, polling-day information

A detailed list of what to do in the preparation phase is in our guide 10 things to do before you run for office.

Getting to know the district and its neighbourhoods

In a local election, every neighbourhood has different priorities. The coast, industrial zones, new housing areas and village neighbourhoods face different problems. If the field programme and content plan reflect these differences, every neighbourhood sees content that concerns it. Notes gathered on neighbourhood visits are also the source for the project videos.

Candidate film and portraits

The candidate film is where voters see the candidate for the first time. The candidate’s life, profession and reasons for standing are told in their own voice. The main film runs for a few minutes; 30–60 second versions for social media are cut from the same shoot. In the Dilovası 2024 campaign, the candidate introduction video was one of the first pieces of content. Details: candidate film and campaign video.

Explaining projects one by one

Voters want to see concretely what the candidate intends to do. A short video can be made for each project: the problem, the proposed solution and where the project will be carried out. In the Darıca 2019 campaign we presented 22 projects in separate videos, from stream rehabilitation and a city park to a youth centre, and from a sailing club to the Tuzla–Darıca coastal link road. In the Dilovası 2024 campaign, zoning, social facilities, a women’s education centre and nursery, a children’s playground, support for farmers, environmental pollution and social assistance were each covered in separate content.

Field work and events

Visits to local businesses and residents, youth meetings, rallies and invitation videos make up the daily flow of a campaign. The field team is planned around the programme; versions to be published shortly after a visit are edited the same day. Invitation videos for events go out beforehand, summary videos afterwards. In the Darıca 2019 campaign 29, and in the Dilovası 2024 campaign 22 campaign videos were produced this way.

Social media and campaign website

Social media accounts should be managed to a weekly plan, with every piece of content approved before it is published. The campaign website brings together the CV, projects, videos and events calendar. For the campaign period and bans, see our guide election bans and social media.

Municipal council and muhtar candidates

For council and muhtar candidates, the same steps apply on a smaller scale: portraits, a short introduction video, printed material for the neighbourhood and social media content. A shared visual language can be prepared for several candidates from the same list.

Polling day and after

No campaigning takes place on polling day; informative content is prepared in advance and scheduled according to the rules. After the election, a thank-you message, the archive and the handover of account access are planned. The website and accounts belong to the candidate; how they will be used in the new term should be discussed in advance, regardless of the result.

We describe how we work on mayoral campaigns on our mayoral campaign management page.

Sources

This information was checked against the sources below on 3 November 2026. Legislation and Supreme Election Council decisions can change with each election; before acting, rely on the current text and your legal adviser’s opinion. This article is not legal advice.

• Supreme Election Council (ysk.gov.tr): election timetables and decisions
• Sporx, 14 September 2026: “Yerel seçimler ne zaman?” (in Turkish)
• Law No. 298 on the Basic Provisions of Elections and Electoral Registers (mevzuat.gov.tr, in Turkish)
• Sözcü: “Seçime son 10 gün: yasaklar başladı” (31 March 2024 local elections, in Turkish)