Although Abdullah Zeydan, the candidate from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), won the election in Van in a landslide, the mandate was given to Abdullah Arvas, the runner-up from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), by the regional electoral commission on Tuesday.
The commission’s controversial decision was based on a last-minute court decision that deprived Zeydan of the right to stand for election although he had been previously found eligible to run in the election and submitted the necessary paperwork to the country’s election authority.
Nacho Sanchez Amor, the European Parliament’s rapporteur on Turkey, said on X that the mayorship of Van was granted to the losing AKP candidate “due to a last-minute judicial maneuver” and despite previous checks by the country’s Supreme Election Board (YSK). He said the clear will expressed by the people should not be usurped again anywhere, in an implicit reference to the ousting of dozens of Kurdish democratically elected mayors following the local elections of 2019 by the Turkish government on accusations that they had links to terrorism.
Very glad to see that the 🇹🇷 Supreme Election Council #YSK has corrected a wrongful decision giving finally the mayorship of #Van to its legitimate winner: @DEMGenelMerkezi candidate @AbdullahZeydan. Hope this marks the end of any attempt not to respect the results in the region. https://t.co/oVi5TXR9AX
— Nacho Sánchez Amor (@NachoSAmor) April 3, 2024
Ann Linde, the foreign minister of Sweden, said on X that the DEM Party’s elected mayor for the Van Metropolitan Municipality was stopped by the election board. She said the people’s will expressed in the election should be respected.
Nikolaj Villumsen, a member of the European Parliament, lamented that even before two days had passed since the local elections, the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan started to violate the will of the people.
“That is totally unacceptable! The democratic choice of the people of #Van must be respected. Solidarity with @DEMGenelMerkezi,” he tweeted, tagging the X account of the DEM Party.
It is not more than two days since the local elections in Turkey and Erdogans goverment has already started to violate the will of the people.
That is totally unacceptable!
The democratic choice of the people of #Van must be respected.
Solidarity with @DEMGenelMerkezi!✌🏻 https://t.co/yghlZQMfRd
— Nikolaj Villumsen (@nvillumsen) April 2, 2024