Alanya - Government

Government

Alanya was set up as a municipality in 1872, electing its first mayor in 1901. Today, Alanya is governed by a mayor and a municipality council made up of twenty-five members. Twelve councilors are of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which is currently in power in the national government. Eight councilors are from the center-right Motherland Party, with three members from the center-left Republican People's Party, two from the far-right Nationalist Movement Party. Mayor Hasan Sipahioğlu was formerly with the Motherland Party, but on July 12, 2009 joined the AK Party. Sipahioğlu was first elected in 1999, and was reelected in 2004 and 2009. Elections are held every five years, with the next to be held in March 2014. Alanya also has a deputy mayor, who often represents the city at its sporting events.

Alanya District is divided up into 17 municipalities, including the city center, and 92 villages. Alanya is greatly influenced by the provincial government in Antalya, and the national government in Ankara, which appoints a governor for the district, currently Dr. Hulusi Doğan. Although Alanya has been part of Antalya Province since the Ottoman Empire, many local politicians have advocated a separate Alanya Province, a position supported by associations of foreign residents.

Nationally, in the 2007 election, the province voted with the Justice and Development Party, who were followed closely by the Republican People's Party and the True Path Party. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, of the Justice and Development Party, is the only native Alanyalilar Member of Parliament representing Antalya Province in the Grand National Assembly, where he chairs the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Population. He also served as the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.