With trustees assigned to 24 municipalities, three of them of metropolitan provinces, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) launched a report, entitled, “Trustee Regime in Turkey and Extortion of the Right to Election.” The report included all incidents as well as the legal process that started with the first trustee period in 2016 and later continued after March 31st, stating that the applications are “a clear indicator of the ruling power’s extorting and hostile relationship with the Kurds and democracy.”
The report reminded that operations started with the authority assigned in 2016 through Statutory Decree within the State of Emergency No. 674, trustees were assigned to replace those elected in 10 provinces, 63 districts and 22 town administrations making a total of 95 municipalities; in parallel to that, approximately 15 thousand Kurdish workers and public officers working in the municipalities as well as approximately 300 neighborhood representatives were dismissed. In this first period, 93 co-mayors, hundreds of municipal assembly and provincial assembly members were arrested and that 15 co-mayors were convicted after prosecutions. In operations after the local elections on March 31st (between August 19 – November 16, 2019) a total of 24 co-mayors were dismissed with an order from the Interior Ministry; including 3 metropolitan, 1 provincial, 19 district and 1 town municipalities. 14 co-mayors were arrested.
21.11.2019
bianet.org