A court has sentenced two opposition mayors to six years and three months in prison on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization” in the predominantly Kurdish-populated southeastern city of Dersim.
The mayors, Cevdet Konak, co-mayor of Dersim and a member of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, and Mustafa Sarıgül, mayor of Ovacık district and a member of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), were convicted by the Tunceli Heavy Penal Court.
The ruling may prompt the government to appoint trustees to replace the mayors. Under Turkish law, the Interior Ministry has the authority to suspend mayors facing criminal charges, including those related to terrorism, even if their legal processes are ongoing.
Recently, four mayors from the CHP and the DEM have been removed from office. While trustee appointments have primarily affected pro-Kurdish parties since 2016 it is new for CHP mayors to be removed from office on “terrorism” allegations.
Return of trustees
The Interior Ministry replaced the mayor of İstanbul's Esenyurt district, run by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) on Oct 31, citing a "terrorism" investigation into the mayor. This was followed by the removal of the mayors of the cities of Mardin and Batman, and Urfa's Halfeti district, controlled by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party on Nov 4, on the grounds of ongoing "terrorism-related" criminal cases against them. The ministry has appointed governors and district governors as trustees in the place of the mayors.
Under Turkish law, the interior ministry has the authority to suspend mayors under criminal investigation, appointing trustees to act in their stead. The trustee has the authority to dissolve municipal councils, legislative body of municipalities, 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 the 2019 election by winning the elections in 65 municipal areas, including eight cities. However, all but five district and town municipalities were eventually taken over by the government in the following months, 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.
(VK)
