Eight Municipal Council Members from HDP Dismissed in Van

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The Ministry of Interior has dismissed eight municipal council members from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in the districts of Edremit, Çaldıran and Tuşba in the mostly Kurdish-populated eastern province of Van.

Çaldıran Co-Mayor Faruk Demir and Edremit Co-Mayor Medeni Özer were previously dismissed by the ministry this month. Mayor of the Van Metropolitan Municipality was replaced with a trustee on Monday (August 19).

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Other co-mayors of the three districts were stripped of mandates after the March 31 election on the grounds that they were previously dismissed from a public post upon a statutory decree. Second-placed candidates from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) were given certificates of election instead of them. (TP/VK)