Turkey’s Supreme Election Commission has ruled in favor of the People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM) candidate Abdullah Zeydan as the mayor of Van.
According to the decision, Zeydan will be appointed as mayor of the city.
“What should have happened, has happened, and the will of the people of Van has won,” DEM Party co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan said after the election commission’s decision.
“The people of Van showed their will in the March 31 elections and gave us 250,000 votes as the DEM Party, Zeydan told Channel8.
“The AKP is violating that will, illegally removing us and replacing us with its own candidate,” he said earlier.
Zeydan had lost the right to stand for election after he was arrested in 2016 on terror-related charges for criticizing the Turkish aerial bombardments against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
His rights were reinstated in 2022 but the Ministry of Justice revoked his rights two days ahead of the March 31st elections.
The decision to nullify his election sparked protests in Van and Istanbul.
It also drew criticism from Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel, former CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, and other politicians from across the political spectrum.
