Turkey is preparing to investigate 37 municipalities controlled by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) over alleged connections to terrorism, Middle East Eye (MEE) reported.
According to a source cited by MEE, Turkish police are reviewing DEM Party-controlled municipalities to assess whether more formal investigations are warranted. If official inquiries provide official cause, all 37 mayors could be removed and replaced by state-appointed administrators.
This move follows the recent removal of three DEM Party-affiliated mayors in Mardin, Batman and Halfeti, who were replaced with government-appointed trustees after terrorism-related probes. Ahmet Özer, the opposition mayor of İstanbul’s Esenyurt district and a member of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was also removed. The CHP had recently allied with the DEM Party to secure that district.
As Turkey’s third-largest political party, the DEM Party currently holds 57 seats in parliament and controls multiple local offices. Turkish authorities often consider DEM to be aligned with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies, although the party denies any connection.
Rights groups have criticized the government’s actions, with Human Rights Watch condemning the dismissals as anti-democratic.
“Denying hundreds of thousands of voters their chosen representatives and replacing them with government appointees undermines the democratic process and violates the right to free and fair elections,” Hugh Williamson, the group’s Europe and Central Asia director, said.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan defended the removals, asserting they are necessary to prevent “separatist organizations” from misusing public office. “We will not allow municipal resources to be used for anything but public service,” Erdoğan said during a recent cabinet meeting.
This isn’t the first time the government has replaced elected mayors in predominantly Kurdish areas. Following a 2016 coup attempt, dozens of pro-Kurdish mayors were removed, and in 2019, the government replaced officials in 48 of the 65 municipalities won by the DEM Party’s predecessor, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Rights advocates warn that additional dismissals could deepen public frustration in Kurdish communities.
Turkey’s recent practice of appointing state trustees, or “kayyım,” to replace elected mayors accused of terrorism ties dates back to a 2016 law enacted after the failed coup attempt. The law grants the government authority to dismiss and replace mayors and municipal council members on the basis of terrorism investigations, citing national security concerns. Following its implementation, trustees were assigned to 101 municipalities, predominantly those led by the HDP, which was then the main pro-Kurdish party, with 151 municipal council members also dismissed.
In the 2019 local elections, only six of the 65 municipalities won by the HDP were governed without trustee appointments. Major cities with significant Kurdish populations, like Diyarbakır, Van and Mardin were placed under trustee control, largely due to allegations of terrorism support among elected mayors. Critics argue that these appointments undermine local democracy and sideline voters’ choices, with rights groups labeling the moves “anti-democratic.”
