Turkey’s Interior Ministry has removed Mehmet Alkan, mayor of the Kağızman district of Kars province, from office after he was sentenced to more than six years in prison on conviction of membership in an armed terrorist organization, BBC Turkish service reported on Monday.
In an official statement issued on February 24, the Interior Ministry said Alkan was temporarily removed from office as a precautionary measure. The government appointed Kağızman District Governor Okan Daştan as acting mayor.
Authorities have not disclosed which organization Alkan was convicted of being affiliated with. However, in similar cases, officials have typically linked such charges to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey and its Western allies designate as a terrorist organization.
The PKK has waged a war against the Turkish state since 1984 that has left more than 40,000 people dead.
The decision has sparked criticism from the pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which denounced the move as an attack on democratic rights.
“The appointment of a trustee to the Kağızman Municipality is a declaration of war by the ruling Justice and Development Party [AKP] against the people’s right to elect and be elected,” the party said in a statement.
DEM Party Co-chair Tuncer Bakırhan accused the government of executing a premeditated operation to seize opposition-led municipalities.
“The trustee system is like a staged play,” Bakırhan said. “The judiciary, the Interior Ministry and law enforcement all act in unison, as if someone pushed a button. Even before a court hearing begins, the municipal building is placed under siege, and the trustee is already waiting outside.”
Bakırhan also criticized a recent decision by the governor of Kars to impose a 10-day ban on protests in the district, calling it reminiscent of past military coup periods.
The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) also condemned the decision.
Burhanettin Bulut, the CHP’s deputy chair responsible for public relations and media, described the move as “a blow to democracy and the will of the people of Kağızman.”
“Less than a year after the March 31 local elections, the government has taken control of 12 municipalities it could not win at the ballot box through bureaucratic maneuvers,” Bulut wrote on X.
Since a coup attempt in 2016, Turkey has removed 154 elected mayors from office, primarily on terrorism-related charges.
The government often replaces these mayors with state-appointed trustees, a practice critics argue undermines local democracy and disregards voters’ choices. The majority of the affected mayors are from pro-Kurdish parties, with allegations often centered on supposed links to the PKK.
The government defends these actions as necessary for national security. However, opposition parties and human rights organizations contend that the removals serve to suppress political dissent and consolidate power. The practice has drawn international concern, with calls for Turkey to uphold democratic principles and respect the outcomes of free elections.
