MHP floats proposal to expand Türkiye’s provinces to 100

ANKARA

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has called for the creation of 19 new provinces, arguing that Türkiye should increase its number of cities from 81 to 100.

“Under a project drawn up by the Nationalist Movement Party, we envisage the establishment of 19 new provinces and 78 new districts,” Bahçeli said in an interview published by the Türkgün newspaper on Nov. 1.

He said the party aims to elevate certain districts to provincial status based on objective criteria, including population, development potential, geographical location, difficulties in accessing public services and strategic importance.

“Undoubtedly, the districts to be granted provincial status will be selected by parliament from among those with the potential to become provinces, based on a consensus reached by the relevant state institutions in line with the established objective criteria,” Bahçeli said.

He added that the MHP would submit a legislative proposal on the matter to the parliamentary speaker’s office in the coming period.

Bahçeli said the proposed legislation, covering both districts that could be elevated to provincial status and towns that could become districts, would be brought onto the agenda at a later stage.

He stressed that Türkiye’s administrative structure and public administration system must also be adapted to the country’s evolving needs if it is to achieve its national goals.

The initiative, dubbed the “100 Provinces and 1,000 Districts Project,” is based on an assessment combining statistical data with sociopolitical and socioeconomic conditions, he said.

The prospect of granting provincial status to heavily populated districts by separating them from their existing provinces has been under discussion in Türkiye for some time.

Potential candidates include Gebze in the northwestern province of Kocaeli, Polatlı in the capital Ankara, Fethiye in the southwestern province of Muğla and Alanya in the southern city of Antalya.