The existence of ethical principles in public administration and especially the implementation of these principles in municipalities are important for sustainable public service delivery, a reliable and fair public administration structure. A municipal administration structure established on the basis of transparency, accountability, fairness and equality principles will bring about public trust in public administration.

With the recent developments in technology and the increase in the number of social media users, it has become possible to follow municipal activities more closely. Especially during election periods, when municipalities practice nepotism, defined as favoritism against relatives, and do not apply the principle of merit during recruitment or promotion processes, this undermines public trust in public administration. Since municipalities are public institutions, they must meticulously comply with ethical principles. In this context, it is essential for an ethical culture to be established in municipalities and all segments of the public. Governance and control mechanisms are also among the essential elements that must be included in this culture.

In this context, the article addresses the issue of nepotism, touches on related concepts, the damages caused by nepotism, and includes legislation, statistical data and exemplary nepotism practices seen in municipalities. Within the scope of the Principle Decision of the Public Officials Ethics Board dated 18.10.2022 and numbered 2022/165, the Local Government Public Officials Ethical Behavior Principles and the studies carried out by the Public Officials Ethics Board on ethics are mentioned. The article aims to reveal through a literature review that the practice of nepotism harms ethical principles, public interest, society, and public trust. In this direction, public officials who exhibit ethical behavior should be encouraged, the decisions of the Public Officials Ethics Board should include sanctions, disciplinary penalties should be applied to public officials who violate ethics, personnel recruitment made through subcontractor companies should be inspected, personnel recruitment should be analyzed in line with the needs analysis, ethical culture should be established so that nepotism does not become commonplace in society and does not cause brain drain, and not only public institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations should cooperate against personnel recruitment made in this field.