Turkey’s top election body restores DEM candidate’s win in Van

The certificate of election of Abdullah Zeydan, who won the election for the mayor of Van has been restored by the Supreme Election Council (YSK). 

Previously, the Van Provincial Election Council revoked the DEM Party candidate’s mandate. 

Mehmet Rüştü Tiryaki, the DEM representative at the YSK, announced that the council overturned this decision with a 7-4 vote. 

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 on 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)