Türkiye: the contested election of a pro-Kurdish elected official in the municipal elections finally validated

An elected official from Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party whose election on Sunday March 31 at the head of a large city in eastern Turkey had been invalidated in favor of a government candidate was finally declared the winner of the vote , announced his party.

Supporters of Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party celebrate in front of their party headquarters after electoral authorities reinstated the winner of a municipal election in Van, eastern Turkey, on April 3, 2024. AFP - REFIK TEKIN

By: RFI with AFP

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“ 

Thanks to the resistance of the Kurdish people, our friends and the democrats, it was decided to hand over the mandate of mayor of the metropolitan town hall of Van to Abdullah Zeydan 

,” welcomed the pro-Kurdish party DEM (formerly HDP) from

Turkey

in a message on the social network

The third political force in the Turkish Parliament, the party contacted the Turkish High Electoral Council on Wednesday April 3 to contest

the invalidation of Mr. Zeydan's election

in Van, a large Kurdish-majority city located near the Iranian border. The decision of the High Electoral Council, announced Tuesday 2, had created strong tensions in the city and demonstrations and movements of anger as far as Istanbul.

“ 

The will of the inhabitants of Van has taken shape 

,” rejoiced Wednesday evening the co-president of the party, Tuncer Bakirhan, in a message on the social network XM Bakirhan had earlier denounced a “putsch”.

Bijî gele me, bijî tekoşîna Wane…



Olması gereken oldu ve Van halkının iradesi hayat buldu.



Hayırlı olsun pic.twitter.com/2EtXg7iKfD

— Tuncer BAKIRHAN (@tuncerbakirhan) April 3, 2024

Abdullah Zeydan was elected on Sunday with 55.48% of the vote, against 27.15% for his main rival from the ruling AKP party (Justice and Development Party), swept away in many cities across the country. According to the DEM party, the local electoral commission had challenged Mr. Zeydan's political rights on Friday, less than 48 hours before the vote. Elected deputy in 2015, Abdullah Zeydan was arrested the following year, accused in particular of having attended the funerals of members of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an armed group considered terrorist by Ankara and its Western allies. The Turkish government accuses the DEM party of links to the PKK, which the party denies. Imprisoned, Mr. Zeydan was released in early 2022.

Numerous arrests

Faced with tensions in Van, the prefecture on Wednesday banned all demonstrations, as well as the entry for 15 days of “ 

groups or individuals likely to participate in illegal gatherings

 ” in the province. Nearly 90 people were arrested in Van and six other cities for protesting against the decision of the High Electoral Council, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced Wednesday morning. Ten lawyers were also arrested Wednesday during a rally in front of the Van courthouse, according to the MLSA lawyers' association. Around fifty mayors from the pro-Kurdish party elected in 2019 were replaced by administrators appointed by the state.

“ 

What happened to Van is totally ludicrous

 ,” reacted Wednesday afternoon the mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, re-elected Sunday under the colors of the CHP (Republican People's Party, social-democrat), the main opposition party released big winner of Sunday's municipal elections.

Also listen Municipalities in Türkiye: “The AKP is a party that no longer has the capacity to regenerate”

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