At the 4th award ceremony for the European Label of Governance Excellence (ELoGE) in Türkiye, held in Ankara on 10 February 2026, 16 municipalities* were awarded the label. Speaking at the ceremony, Congress Vice-President Cecilia Dalman Eek (Sweden, SOC/G/PD) praised the crucial role of the Turkish Union of Municipalities (TBB) in promoting good democratic governance in Türkiye, especially at a time when democratic values are under threat from polarisation. “Thanks to the outreach of TBB and the engagement of Argüden Governance Academy, ELoGE is offering a framework to improve governance and strengthen democracy from the bottom up,” she said.
TBB Secretary General, Suat Yildiz, acknowledged that ELoGE enables municipalities to question practice in a transparent manner, strengthen local good governance, and enhance trust of citizens. As the Council of Europe works towards building a New Democratic Pact for Europe, increasing numbers of municipalities of Türkiye are seeking to engage citizens and measure municipal performance against European standards.
ELoGE is a benchmarking process based on the 12 Principles of good democratic governance; it is awarded to municipalities which can demonstrate that they have achieved a high level of performance against those standards.
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* Adana, Ankara , Balıkesir, Eskişehir, and Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipalities, plus Avcılar, Bağcılar, Bakırköy, Bornova, Etimesgut, Fatih, Kadıköy, Manisa, Odunpazarı,Sultanbeyli and Tepebaşı
