Protests continue in Van after revocation of mayor-elect's rights

The people of Van have been staging protests for the past two days following the decision by the Provincial Election Board to revoke the legitimate rights of Abdullah Zeydan, who was elected as the Mayor of Van Metropolitan Municipality with 55% of the vote in the March 31 local elections.

The protests, which began yesterday afternoon and continued until the early hours of the morning, have persisted today in the city.

Following a demonstration attended by the Co-Chairs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Tuncer Bakırhan and Tülay Hatimoğulları, the crowd marched towards the Van Courthouse, where the Provincial Election Board is located.

As the crowd marched chanting slogans, the police intervened with tear gas, leading to clashes erupting in the city's side streets.

🔴 Van'da irade gasbına karşı protestolar

👉 Polis, açıklama sonrası yürüyüşe geçen kitleye tazyikli su ve gaz bombalarıyla müdahale etti.

📹 Video: @RusenTakva pic.twitter.com/MUjufDbHs7

— bianet (@bianet_org) April 3, 2024

What happened?

Abdullah Zeydan was arrested on November 4, 2016, as part of an investigation into a speech he made at a press conference in Yüksekova on July 26, 2015.

In the trial held on January 11, 2018, at Diyarbakır 5th Heavy Penal Court, Zeydan was sentenced to 5 years for "assisting the organization without being a member" and 3 years, 1 month, and 15 days for "making propaganda for the organization."

Following the reversal decision by the 16th Criminal Chamber of the Court of Cassation, the case was retried on January 6, 2022.

In the retrial at Diyarbakır 5th Heavy Penal Court, taking into account the time Zeydan had spent in detention, the court decided to release him.

Before the elections, Zeydan completed all legal procedures and applied to the Supreme Election Board, and his candidacy was accepted by the Supreme Election Board after the necessary examinations.

However, on March 29, 2024, five minutes before the end of office hours, the Ministry of Justice objected to his candidacy rights with an administrative decision and letter.

Following an examination today (April 2) after the objection, the Van Provincial Election Board decided by majority vote to annul Zeydan's mayoralty and to appoint AKP candidate Abdulahat Arvas as the new mayor.

The President of the Van Provincial Election Board, Murat Altundere, objected to the annulment of Zeydan's candidacy.

Zeydan received 245,573 votes in the elections held on March 31, while AKP candidate Abdulahat Arvas received 120,147 votes. (RT/VK)