Pro-Kurdish party sees itself cheated out of mayoralty. Abdullah Zeydan is said to have received 55 percent in the local elections in Van, Turkey.
However, someone else was appointed as the new mayor. The police used tear gas and water cannons to disperse a crowd of several hundred demonstrators who had gathered in front of the DEM office. In the capital Ankara, DEM co-chairman Tuncer Bakirhan denounced a “political coup” The local elections were seen as a test of sentiment after last year's presidential election; Ekrem Imamoğlu's victory was seen as defeat for Erdoğan.