ONLINE ACCOUNTABILITY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS: THE CASE OF METROPOLITAN MUNICIPALITIES

The transformation brought by Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) is reshaping organizational structures and the functioning of administrative systems in contemporary societies. With the transition of public institutions to digital platforms, these technological developments are redefining the principles of transparency, governance, and accountability that dominate traditional service delivery models. Within public institutions, new norms and practices such as open data have emerged under a more inclusive governance framework. The multilayered impact of digitalization technically enables metropolitan municipalities, in particular, to enhance stakeholder participation and guarantee the right to access information through structured data ecosystems via web-based platforms. The strengthening of metropolitan municipalities’ digital capacities through open data policies, the institutionalization of data standards, and platform-based interaction mechanisms contributes to increased levels of transparency and accountability. This article aims to analyze the concept of “online accountability” and evaluate the extent to which metropolitan municipalities communicate their activities, decisions, and to stakeholders via digital platforms, thereby ensuring transparency and accountability in governance. This study, conducted through a qualitative descriptive analysis of the online accountability of metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, uses tables and content analyses as its primary sources. Although these analyses are based on datasets collected during the thesis process in 2022, they have been updated as of 2025. This article aims to offer an evaluative perspective on accountability in the digitalization of local governments and, as the first study in this field, to e stablish a theoretical and methodological foundation for future academic research.