A senior official from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) explained the legal grounds behind recent removals of pro-Kurdish mayors and signaled that similar actions could follow.
The Interior Ministry replaced the mayors of Mardin and Batman, as well as the district of Halfeti in Urfa, appointing trustees due to ongoing investigations and convictions related to “terrorism” charges. All three mayors are members of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party.
Speaking on the matter during a press conference at the parliament, Abdullah Güler, deputy chair of the AKP’s parliamentary group, said, “We know that investigations under the Anti-Terror Law are ongoing against these mayors by the public prosecutors in their respective cities. Secondly, the mayor of Mardin Metropolitan Municipality has received a sentence of over 10 years in a lower court, while the Batman and Halfeti mayors each face sentences of over six years, pending appeals in the higher courts.”
Güler added, “According to Article 127 of our Constitution and Articles 45 and 46 of our Municipalities Law No. 5393, the Interior Ministry reviewed these cases and decided on these temporary assignments to ensure the integrity of public service.” He emphasized that the appointees would continue in these roles unless the legal process exonerates the officials.
Such practices have been implemented before, Güler noted, adding, “These practices will continue and are continuing within the legal framework.”
Although trustee appointments are described as temporary measures in laws, no mayor replaced by a trustee has been able to return to office since the government began implementing this policy in 2016.
Return of trustees
Under Turkish law, the interior ministry has the authority to suspend mayors under criminal investigation, appointing trustees to act in their stead. The trustee appointment also dissolves the municipal councils, which are separately elected bodies typically composed of members from various political parties.
The government widely implemented trustee policies during the period of state of emergency following a failed coup in 2016, taking over almost all municipalities run by the HDP in the country’s Kurdish-populated regions. The party regained the municipalities in 2019 by winning the elections in 65 municipal areas, including eight cities. All but five district and town municipalities were eventually taken over, citing “terrorism” investigations and cases against the mayors.
The DEM Party, the HDP’s successor, won 11 cities among 75 municipalities in the 2024 polls. The government has so far refrained from a widespread takeover of municipalities but appointed a trustee to the Hakkari city in June. With the most recent takeovers, the DEM has lost three of the 11 cities it won.
Additionally, the Interior Ministry took over İstanbul’s Esenyurt district municipality on Oct 31, replacing its mayor citing a “terrorism” investigation against him. This marked the first incident where the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lost a municipality for this reason. The mayor, Ahmet Özer, a distinguished academic and an ethnic Kurd, was endorsed by DEM in the March elections.
(VK)
