Local Initiatives to Meet in İstanbul Ahead of Local Elections

"For İstanbul... Local assemblies in quest of local government"

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Five local initiatives in İstanbul, namely Princes' Islands Assembly, Beyoğlu Citizens Assembly, Güngören Democracy Platform, Electoral Process Assemblies and Şişli Democracy Platform will come together in İstanbul ahead of local elections to be held on March 31 and will share their aims and experiences and exchange opinions and ideas.

Releasing a written statement, the initiatives have announced that they will meet at Şişli Nazım Hikmet Cultural Center* on February 2 from 3 to 6 p.m.

Call for 'a completely new understanding of politics'

In their statement, the initiatives have emphasized that "the new generation way of doing politics, which also came to the fore during the Presidential referendum and general elections, will provide an important experience in terms of a participatory municipalism and a transparent local governance in local elections, thereby ushering in a new era in politics in Turkey."

Underlining the importance of election safety, the initiatives have stated that "they will work on setting a common course of action with a shared wisdom" on February 2 and made a call to all citizens in İstanbul:

"We are calling all citizens from all assemblies and all initiatives and people from the bases of all political parties to do politics together with a completely new understanding based on the principles of participatory local democracy and a transparent municipalism, ranging from the neighborhoods to the metropolitan municipalities." (EKN/SD)

* Nazim Hikmet Kültür ve Sanat Evi. Halide Edip Adıvar Mahallesi, Darülaceze Cd. 9/1-1 Şişli.