Categories: World

Turkey denies pro-Kurdish mayor-elect the right to assume office

close Video

Fox News Flash top headlines for April 2

Fox News Flash top headlines are here. Check out what’s clicking on Foxnews.com.

Turkey’s electoral authorities on Tuesday denied the newly elected mayor from a pro-Kurdish political party the right to hold office in an eastern city and replaced him with his runner-up in the race — a candidate from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s ruling party.

Sunday’s local polls were a blow to Erdoğan and his Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party after their wins last year in the presidential and parliamentary elections.

The main opposition party retained its hold of Istanbul and the capital of Ankara and made huge gains elsewhere while the pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM, won several municipalities in Turkey’s mainly-Kurdish regions despite years of repression and thousands of political activists arrested.

TURKEY’S ERDOGAN SUFFERS SETBACK AFTER OPPOSITION SEES MASSIVE GAINS IN URBAN AREAS

The decision to revoke the mandate of Abdullah Zeydan, from DEM, after he won in the eastern city of Van, sparked condemnation and street protests on Tuesday. Police used a water cannon and tear gas to disperse the demonstration in Van. DEM said it would seek to appeal the decision.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks at a press conference during a NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, on June 30, 2022. (REUTERS/Yves Herman)

The main opposition center-left Republican People’s Party, or CHP, also condemned the move and dispatched a delegation from the party to Van in a show of support to Zeydan.

In revoking his mandate, the electoral authority cited a last-minute court decision that reversed an earlier court ruling that said the politician, who spent time in prison, could run for office.

Zeydan won 55% of the votes in Van in Sunday’s balloting. The second-placed candidate, Abdullah Arvas of Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party, garnered 27%.

In addition to Van, DEM won the municipalities of nine provinces in Turkey’s mainly-Kurdish populated southeast.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Over the past years, Erdoğan’s government had removed elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office for alleged links to Kurdish militants and replaced them with state-appointed trustees.

Share

Recent Posts

AI girlfriend apps leak millions of private chats

Millions of private messages meant to stay secret are now public. Two AI companion apps,…

8 hours ago

Teens face new PG-13 limits on Instagram

Instagram is turning up the parental controls. The app will now treat teen accounts more…

9 hours ago

Discord confirms vendor breach exposed user IDs in ransom plot

In 2025, it feels like cybercriminals are winning while the world's biggest data hoarders are…

1 day ago

Teens turning to AI for love and comfort

Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer just helping students with homework. A new survey from…

2 days ago

AI flaw leaked Gmail data before OpenAI patch

A new cybersecurity warning reveals how hackers briefly weaponized ChatGPT's Deep Research tool. The attack,…

2 days ago

Tesla’s self-driving cars under fire again

The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has opened a new investigation into 2.88…

3 days ago