The views of metropolitan municipality assembly members on the impact of public professional organizations on local politic: A sample for Eskişehir and Konya

Professional organizations are important actors in shaping local politics. They represent the interests and concerns of specific sectors or professional groups. Their participation in local politics can impact policy decisions, legislation, and the overall governance of a region. In provincial special administrations and municipalities, decision-making assemblies establish specialized commissions, and the members serving in these committees are selected from among the elected members of the assembly. Specialized commissions prepare reports on the works submitted to them and submit them to the council. Furthermore, according to the law, the works that are covered by the specialized commissions are discussed in the relevant commissions and then finalized by the municipal council. The mentioned laws regulating local governments regulate that neighborhood mukhtars, chiefs of public institutions in the province, representatives of professional organizations, universities, trade unions and representatives of non-governmental organizations related to the issues on the agenda can attend the meetings of the specialized commissions without the right to vote and express their opinions. This shows that professional organizations can not only defend the professional interests of their members, but also contribute to the culture of governance by submitting proposals to local governments or cooperating with them. Professional organizations, especially in metropolitan cities, represent a large population due to the large number of their members. Within the scope of representation and area of expertise, the matter of whether these organizations are an actor in local politics is important. In this context, the aim of this study is to determine the views of metropolitan municipality assembly members on the impact of professional organizations on local politics. The sample of the study consists of a total of 6 metropolitan municipality assembly members working in Eskişehir and Konya provinces. Within the scope of the research, qualitative data analysis method was preferred and data were collected through in-depth interviews. The collected data were analyzed using MAXQDA software program. According to the results of the research, metropolitan municipality council members stated that professional organizations are effective in local politics, but they are not an actor in local politics.