Hakkari (Colemêrg) mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış, elected in the local elections of 31 March, has been detained on accusations of terrorism and removed from office by the Turkish government. The Interior Ministry announced on 3 June that Akış had been replaced by ‘trustee’ Ali Çelik, who is also the governor of Hakkari.
Akış, who secured his position with 48.92% of the vote as a candidate from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, was detained in Van (Wan) on Monday. After his arrest, the municipality of Hakkari was placed under police blockade. As grounds for his removal, the Interior Ministry cited charges of “leading an illegal organisation”, “membership of an illegal organisation”, and “propaganda for an illegal organisation”, which has been the case in every instance of a Kurdish mayor being deposed.
According to the ministry, these charges relate to an ongoing case in Hakkari’s Serious Penalty Court No.1, with additional investigations underway. Akış’s detention and subsequent removal were described as a “temporary measure” by the Interior Ministry.
The new ‘trustee’ Ali Çelik, appointed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, will assume control over Hakkari Municipality. This appointment is part of a broader practice of state-appointed ‘trustees’ taking over the administration of municipalities, particularly in Kurdish-majority areas, on pretexts of security concerns and/or allegations that the elected officials have links with terrorism.
This practice, which has escalated since the failed coup attempt in 2016, has faced significant criticism from Kurdish political groups and human rights organisations for undermining the democratic process and disenfranchising Kurdish voters.
This recent trustee appointment comes immediately after the Hilvan (Curnê Reş) elections in which the DEM Party secured a significant victory despite what they describe as an attempt by the Turkish government to usurp the will of the people. Some commentators link the two incidents, suggesting that Hakkari is retribution for Hilvan, a district in Kurdish-majority Şanlıurfa (Riha).
The initial results of the local elections held in Hilvan on 31 March led to a re-run due to objections from the AKP. The District Election Board accepted the AKP’s objections regarding irregularities in 15 ballot boxes, even though these irregularities had reportedly been staged by relatives of the AKP candidate to get the election annulled to overturn their defeat.
Consequently, a decision was made to hold a re-run of the elections. Before the re-run, Hilvan District Governor Orhan Gazi Karakaş was appointed as ‘trustee’ mayor, with the approval of the Şanlıurfa Governorship. In the re-run held on 2 June, the DEM Party won with an impressive 10,730 votes, increasing the margin of the vote 10-fold.
