Community foundations to choose own leaders, board members

Community foundations of the minorities in Türkiye will be able to select their own leaders and board members as a related regulation has gone into force on June 17 after a nine-year halt.

"The foundations will select their leaders until Dec. 31, 2022," the daily Milliyet reported on June 19.

There are 167 community foundations in Türkiye, including 77 belonging to the Greeks, 54 the Armenians and 19 the Jews.

The regulation opening way to the foundations came into force on Sept. 27, 2008. However, it was canceled in January 2013 with an explanation that "a new regulation will be prepared."

On March 2, 2021, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the country was reorganizing the regulation.

After a nine-year halt, the new regulation was published on the Official Gazetta on July 17.

This new regulation says, "every community foundation has the right to select its own board and the board elections will be held in every 5 years."

The boards will consist of seven people. In extraordinary cases like "decrease in number of board members below three," a new election will be held in the following three months.

According to the new regulation, one can enter the boards of a maximum of three community foundations.

Also, only two people having a blood-relation will be able to enter a board.

All the elections of community foundations will be held until Dec. 31, 2022, except the ones that own their own hospitals.

The election rules for the hospital-owner foundations will be established after the Health Ministry declares opinions, and the election will be held until Dec. 31, 2023.