Abstract
The pluralism of ideas and ideals and their race to occupy the public imagination are essential for the survival of constitutional democracy. Local democracy also contributes to this pluralistic perspective of democracy by decentralizing power and creating a closer relationship between the administration and the citizens. Unfortunately, the current populist wave around the world is eroding this pluralist vision of society and democracy. Populists exclude minorities, alternative visions of the world from what they consider to be the people. Within this context, the global pandemic of COVID-19 created a disguise to legitimize this centralizing tendency of populists. As a coordinated response became necessary, clashes between regional and central authorities started all around the world. This clash took an unusual turn in Turkey, which had already become a victim of democratic decay as a result of authoritarian populism. Opposition mayors wanted to take measures to alleviate the effects of COVID-19 as the Turkish government sought to block these actions and attempted to alienate these mayors in public opinion. However, mayors still found ways to take action. As populists claim to be the real representatives of people, this paper argues that despite the effects of COVID-19, local democracy deserves more attention as a tool against democratic decay because local authorities hold electoral legitimacy just as populist authoritarians do, and their existence may strengthen pluralism against democratic decay. Like tactics that populists use to erode democracy, using a common point that populists seem to endorse might allow democrats to reemphasize the importance of pluralism in politics. The Turkish case of Istanbul re-running elections will serve as an example to illustrate these claims.
