According to unofficial results from the March 31 local elections, Davut Acar from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party won the Saray district of the predominantly Kurdish-populated city of Van with 51.16% of the votes. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate came second.
On behalf of the CHP Saray Deputy District Chair Yasin Arslan submitted a petition to the Saray District Election Board on April 2, requesting the cancellation of the mandate of the winning candidate.
In the petition, the party requested investigations to find out whether the pro-Kurdish DEM’s winning candidate was involved in terrorism-related lawsuits that could hinder his election.
This request comes after the controversy surrounding the election of the mayor of Van city, where the winning candidate from DEM, Abdullah Zeydan, was denied his mandate by the provincial election council on similar grounds. The Supreme Election Council (YSK) reversed this decision two days later, after widespread protests in Van, as well as other Kurdish-populated provinces. During these events, the CHP leadership unequivocally supported the DEM.
The Saray District Election Council decided to reject the request, stating that "there is no final conviction" concerning Acar.
CHP Van Deputy Provincial Chair Ercan Demirci, reached by bianet over the phone, emphasized that they did not endorse the request made by their Saray district organization."It saddened us to come across such a situation while opposing the attempt to usurp the will of the people of Van,” he said.
Noting that the district’s election council rejected the objection, Demirci stated, "For us, the will of the people is above everything."
Adding, "Those responsible for this situation have been expelled," Demirci stated that they would hold a meeting and refer the individuals in question to disciplinary action with the demand for "final expulsion."
“There cannot be a will other than the people's will”
On the other hand, the CHP Van Provincial Presidency made a written statement regarding the issue, saying that the district organization’s petition “was without our knowledge.”
“After Deputy District Chair Yasin Arslan submitted a petition to the District Election Board, he also submitted a resignation letter. Responding to this, our Provincial Presidency did not find only his resignation sufficient and referred him to the Provincial Disciplinary Board with the demand for ‘final expulsion.’
“We respectfully declare to the public that there cannot be a will other than the will of the people and once again invite all political parties to respect the will of the people.” (VC/VK)
