The Interior Ministry has appointed trustees to replace the mayors of Dersim (Tunceli) and its Ovacık istrict, both of whom were convicted on Nov 20 for “membership in a terrorist organization.”
Dersim Mayor Cevdet Konak, a member of the pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party (DEM), and Ovacık Mayor Mustafa Sarıgül, from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), were removed from office.
The Interior Ministry announced the decision around 8 pm local time, prompting residents to gather near the Dersim municipality in protest. Police used rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd.
Footage of the protests outside the municipal hall:
Seventh trustee appointment since election
The move follows a series of similar actions taken by the government since the March local elections. Trustees have already replaced mayors in the provinces of Hakkari, Mardin, and Batman, as well as in Halfeti district in Urfa and Esenyurt district in İstanbul. With these latest appointments, the total number of municipalities affected by trustee takeovers now stands at seven.
2024 municipal takeovers
The first municipality that te government took over was Hakkari on June 4 due to "terrorism" charges against Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış.
On Oct 31, The Interior Ministry replaced the mayor of İstanbul's Esenyurt district, run by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), 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. With the most recent takeovers, the DEM has lost four of the 11 cities it won whereas the CHP lost two districts.
(VK)