01.11.2026 11:00
MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli explained the details of his party's “100 Provinces 1000 Districts” project. Stating that the project envisages the establishment of 19 new provinces and 78 new districts, Bahçeli said that the districts to be made provinces will be determined according to objective criteria such as population, development potential, geographical situation and strategic location. Bahçeli stated that the bill on the matter could be brought onto the agenda in the coming period.
MHP General Chairman Devlet Bahçeli outlined the framework of an administrative regulation proposal envisaging increasing the number of provinces in Türkiye from 81 to 100 and the number of districts from 922 to 1,000. Bahçeli emphasized that the project aims to bring public administration into harmony with the Presidential Government System.
“WE ENVISAGE THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 19 NEW PROVINCES AND 78 NEW DISTRICTS”
Speaking to the Türkgün newspaper, Bahçeli recalled that they had previously expressed their “100 Provinces, 1,000 Districts vision” in reference to the 100th anniversary of the Republic. Bahçeli said, “With the project we have prepared as the Nationalist Movement Party, we envisage the establishment of 19 new provinces and 78 new districts.”
Stating that the aim is to raise to provincial status the districts determined by taking into account criteria such as population, development potential, geographical situation, difficulties in access to services, and strategic location, Bahçeli spoke as follows:
“Undoubtedly, the districts to be made provinces will ultimately be determined by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, among our districts that carry the potential to become provinces, with the consensus that our state’s relevant institutions will establish in line with the specified objective criteria. As the Nationalist Movement Party, a legislative proposal concerning the districts that we consider appropriate to become provinces according to objective criteria and the towns that we assess as appropriate to become districts may be brought to the agenda in the period ahead.”
NAMES OF DISTRICTS TO BECOME PROVINCES NOT ANNOUNCED
Bahçeli did not share in the interview the names of the places proposed to be made provinces or districts. Noting that statistical data were evaluated together with sociopolitical and socioeconomic conditions in the study, Bahçeli said the project was not limited to economic and social needs, but was also a “move for the future” of a growing Türkiye.
“IT NEEDS TO BE MADE COMPATIBLE WITH THE NEW SYSTEM”
Conveying that the project is based on MHP’s comprehensive work offering improvement proposals for central government and local administrations, Bahçeli argued that the political process, which passed through coups, memorandums, and short-lived coalitions, did not make possible the construction of an efficient public administration. Reminding that a transition was made to the Presidential Government System with the 2017 constitutional amendment, Bahçeli used the following expressions: “In order for Türkiye to reach its ‘Turkish and Türkiye Century’ goals, the Turkish administrative system and public administration must also be made entirely compatible with the new system.”
Bahçeli emphasized that these regulations are also important for making permanent the climate of peace, stability, and prosperity that is being sought to be created together with the Terror-Free Türkiye process.
FIVE PRINCIPLES FOR “HARMONY AND ORDER”
Explaining that they had set five main principles to strengthen harmony and order in the second century of the Republic, Bahçeli listed them as follows:
- Strong authority and institutionalism in public administration based on transparency, efficiency, and merit
- Authority and legitimacy that will ensure all elements of the state work in harmony
- Justice and fairness
- An understanding of trust and prosperity centered on the public interest
- Institutional development that will adapt to the risks and opportunities of a changing world
Bahçeli stated that, alongside the crescent, these five elements were of the “nature of stars” representing the future of the Turkish state.
REASONS FOR REORGANIZATION IN ADMINISTRATION
Expressing that administration is a dynamic process and must adapt to changing conditions, Bahçeli said that factors such as new technologies, incompatibilities between management and the socioeconomic structure, and overlaps of authority between institutions made restructuring obligatory. Bahçeli noted that the basic principle in all regulations is integrity in administration, effectiveness in service, citizen focus, and an increase in institutional capacity.
THERE ARE 81 PROVINCES AND 922 DISTRICTS IN TÜRKİYE
According to Ministry of Interior data, there are 81 provinces, 922 districts, 32,314 neighborhoods, and 18,213 villages in Türkiye. The country has a total of 1,403 municipalities, including 30 metropolitan municipalities, 51 provincial municipalities, 519 metropolitan district municipalities, 403 district municipalities, and 400 town municipalities.
According to Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) data, Türkiye’s population was recorded as 86,320,602 people as of July 1, 2026. Of the existing provinces, 3 have populations below 100,000, 6 below 200,000, and 20 below 300,000.