Not Given His Certificate of Election, HDP’s Abubekir Erkmen Detained

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Abubekir Erkmen, who was not given his certificate of election despite being elected as the Mayor of Dağpınar in Kars, has been detained.

As reported by the Mezopotamya Agency (MA), Erkmen was taken into custody in a house raid in early morning hours today (November 1). The reason for his detention is still unknown.

Erkmen was the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Mayor candidate for the Dağpınar town in Digor. He was elected as the mayor in March 31 local elections. However, he was not given his certificate of election on the ground that he had been discharged from public service by a Statutory Decree.

Erkmen has been reportedly referred to Kars city center.

What happened?

After the last local elections on March 31, 2019, HDP's elected mayors of Bağlar district in Diyarbakır; Edremit, Tuşba and Çaldıran districts in Van; Dağpınar town in the district of Digor in Kars; and Tekman district in Erzurum were not given their certificates of election on the stated ground that they had been discharged from public service by Statutory Decrees.

Abubekir Erkmen won the elections by receiving 55 percent of the votes.

As the Supreme Election Council (YSK) ruled that the certificates of election of these elected mayors should be given to the candidates who ranked second in the elections, the municipalities of above districts and towns have passed to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).