A geňeşlik, which roughly translates to "council," is a form of third-level administrative division of Turkmenistan. Councils are representative assemblies made up of elected members. In Turkmenistan, a council, "geňeş", is the local self-governing institution of all kind of administrative subdivision, while a "geňeşlik" is a specific term used for rural third-level administrative divisions.
In opposition to cities and towns, which are urban third-level administrative divisions, villages are grouped in rural councils which are usually less populated while their economy is theorically exclusively focused on agriculture. Rural councils are included within districts.
History The establishment of rural councils was enacted by law on 14 December 1992. The law "on establishing the status of administrative-territorial entities in Turkmenistan" modified the terminology of the administrative divisions, translating Russian terms into Turkmen. "Oblasts" were renamed "Welaýat," "Raions" were renamed "Etrap," etc. Rural councils' territories were established upon the former Soviet farms: Kolkhoz, Sovkhoz and Mezhkhoz. They are since then called "Geňeşlik" instead.
Legal bases The legal bases of councils are stated in the 4th section of the Constitution of Turkmenistan, from article 115 to article 118. Rural councils are no exception to regular councils.
Duties The duties of a rural council, as stated in the constitution, are the as follows. Councils shall:
determine the basic areas of economic, social and cultural development; draw up and approve the budget and report on its performance; set local taxes and fees, and their treatment; manage property, which they own; define measures for rational use of natural resources and environmental protection; contribute to maintaining public order; deal with other issues assigned by law to their competence.
Representation Although being appointed by the Assembly of Turkmenistan, as stated in the article 81, representative bodies are elected by citizens using universal suffrage. Rural councils are headed by an "arçyn", literally "elder," who is elected by the members themselves. The arçyn acts as the executive power, enforcing decisions of its respective representative body and those from higher administrative structures such as districts, provinces, or state.
List Here is a list of the 458 rural councils designated as such by law in Turkmenistan as of September 8, 2025. The following list sorts councils by their administrative division, then by alphabetical order.