Türkiye: a pro-Kurdish elected official sees his victory in the municipal elections finally invalidated
An elected official from Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party, the clear winner on Sunday in a local election in Van (East), saw his election invalidated in favor of a government candidate, his party said on Tuesday April 2. Protests broke out in the city when the decision was announced.
Posters of candidates for the municipal elections including President Erdogan and Ekrem Imamoglu. © Francisco Seco / AP
By: RFI Follow
Advertisement
Read more
With our correspondent in Istanbul
,
Anne Andlauer
In
Turkey
, two days after municipal elections which ended in a defeat for the AKP, the party of President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
, a large town hall in the east of the country has just been granted... to the AKP , following a last minute court decision.
The candidate of the pro-Kurdish party in Van – whose candidacy had nevertheless been accepted by the High Electoral Council – was ultimately deemed ineligible. The pro-Kurdish party, the DEM, is already denouncing a “
coup
” against the verdict of the ballot boxes.
Last Sunday, Abdullah Zeydan, the candidate of the pro-Kurdish party for mayor of Van,
won
the vote hands down in this large province in the east of the country. He received 55% of the vote, compared to 27% for his main rival, the AKP candidate.
Ultimately deemed ineligible
Abdullah Zeydan, who spent six years in prison between 2016 and 2022 for “propaganda” and “aid” to a terrorist group, went to court to recover his right to vote. According to his lawyers, justice ruled in his favor in April 2023 and the prosecution did not appeal until March 29, two days before the elections.
Within hours of this appeal, the court reversed its decision and ultimately found Abdullah Zeydan ineligible. The electoral council of Van took advantage of this decision to take away the victory and entrust the town hall to the candidate who came second, the candidate of Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party.
After the previous municipal elections in 2019, almost all the mayors of the pro-Kurdish party were replaced by administrators appointed by the state. The authorities accused the councilors of having helped the Kurdistan Workers' Party, the PKK.
Also listen Municipalities in Türkiye: “The AKP is a party that no longer has the capacity to regenerate”
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your inbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Share :
Continue reading on the same themes:
Türkiye
Recep Tayyip Erdogan