The Interior Ministry has extended the mandate of Mardin Governor Tuncay Akkoyun as the state-appointed trustee of Mardin Metropolitan Municipality for another two months, despite the acquittal of elected mayor Ahmet Türk in the case that led to his suspension.
Ahmet Türk, who was elected mayor in the Mar 2024 local elections as the candidate of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, was removed from office in Nov 2024 over charges related to “terror propaganda.” Following his acquittal in October, there had been expectations he would be reinstated.
However, the recent decision means the municipality will continue to be governed by the provincial governor’s office until at least March.
The Interior Ministry has decided to keep Akkoyun in charge, even though the heavy penal court ruled that there was insufficient evidence to convict Türk of the charges brought against him.
This marks Türk’s third election as Mardin mayor. He was among the defendants in the Kobanî trial and was removed from his post after being handed a 10-year prison sentence. The municipality has been under the administration of Governor Akkoyun for nearly two years.
Under Turkish law, the Interior Ministry can remove elected local officials facing criminal investigations or prosecutions. Since 2016, this power has been routinely exercised against municipalities governed by the DEM Party and its predecessors.
The extension of the trustee’s mandate comes amid the ongoing Kurdish peace process and the declared dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). These developments had led to expectations that the state’s trustee policy might be phased out, but no such change has occurred as the new year begins. (AB/VK)
