The Group of the Unified European Left in the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) deeply deplores the Ministry of Interior’s decision to appoint governors in place of the democratically elected mayors of five municipalities—Mardin, Batman, Urfa Halfeti, Hakkari, and Esenyurt. These dismissals and appointments of government trustees constitute a direct attack on democratic principles and are utterly unacceptable, especially following the results in the recent local elections of March 31, 2024, which were monitored by the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities.
They exacerbate an already alarming situation regarding the dismissed mayors, an issue which was highlighted in the 2022 PACE report on “The Honouring of Obligations and Commitments by Türkiye,” which noted that these violations remain unaddressed and which highlighted that since 2016 over 150 elected mayors had been dismissed and replaced with appointed governors in municipalities run by the predecessor of the DEM party, HDP.
Both the Congress and the Venice Commission have expressed concern over the practice of appointing trustees, which undermines the very essence of local democracy. The Congress, in its monitoring report, explicitly criticized the Turkish government for continuing the suspension of mayors when criminal investigations are launched against them— based on an overly-broad definition of terrorism —and replacing them with non-elected officials.
In its Recommendation 519(2024) following the 2024 March elections, the Congress stressed the need to abolish this practice, which constitutes a clear violation of the European Charter of Local Self-Government and called on the authorities to ensure that ineligibility of candidates is assessed prior to the elections and based on a final criminal conviction. It also noted that “in the event of a mayor’s dismissal, municipal councils should be able to choose a replacement mayor”.
Considering this ongoing trend of disenfranchising voters and undermining local governance as unacceptable, the UEL, therefore, calls on the PACE rapporteurs on Türkiye to investigate without delay how meaningful progress can be made in this area. It is imperative to ensure that the functioning of democratic institutions at the local level—an essential pillar of any democratic system—be restored and protected.
Furthermore, the UEL group urges the Council of Europe to exert pressure on Türkiye to immediately comply with the European Court of Human Rights’ (ECtHR) 2020 ruling ordering the release of Selahattin Demirtaş. The ECtHR found that Türkiye had violated multiple human rights in the case of Demirtaş, the former co-leader of the HDP.
Demirtaş was arrested alongside his co-chair, Figen Yüksekdağ, on November 4, 2016. His prolonged and unlawful detention is a grave violation of his fundamental rights and an alarming sign of the deepening crisis of the rule of law in Türkiye.
The case of Demirtaş is emblematic of a broader pattern in which the Turkish state has weaponized the criminal justice system to silence political opposition and dismantle democratic institutions. By disregarding the ECtHR’s clear order for his release, Türkiye is attempting to undermine the European Convention designed to safeguard human rights and the rule of law. This situation must be addressed urgently.