Turkey Appoints Trustee to Replace DEM Party’s Co-Mayor of Akdeniz Municipality

Akdeniz Municipality co-mayors Nuriye Aslan and Hosyar Sariyildiz. Photo: Akdeniz Municipality.

The Turkish government has appointed a trustee to replace the co-mayor of the DEM Party’s Akdeniz town municipality in Mersin, raising the total number of trustees appointed since the local elections to nine.

The Interior Ministry announced that Hosyar Sarıyıldız and Nuriye Aslan have been temporarily removed from their posts under Article 127 of the Constitution and Municipal Law No. 5393.

This decision follows a ruling by the Mersin Court and their imprisonment on charges of “Propaganda for the PKK, membership in an armed terrorist organization, violation of the law to prevent the financing of terrorist organizations, and failure to comply with the law on marches and demonstrations.”

Zeyit Sener, the district governor, was appointed as the trustee to replace the co-mayors.

Hosyar Sarıyıldız and Nuriye Aslan had been elected as co-mayors during the March 31, 2024, elections, as part of an urban reconciliation agreement between the DEM Party and the CHP.

On November 10, two co-chairs and five members of the municipal council from the DEM Party were arrested during a raid on their homes.

Since the March 31 local elections, trustees have been appointed to nine municipalities, with seven of them led by the DEM Party and two by the CHP.