Opposition leader Özgür Özel condemned the Turkish government’s decision to replace elected Esenyurt Mayor Ahmet Özer with a government-appointed trustee following Özer’s arrest.
Speaking at a rally on Thursday in İstanbul’s Esenyurt district, organised by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party and the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Özel accused the government of undermining Turkey’s local democracy. “This is a dirty tactic to weaken democratic rights,” he stated, describing Özer’s arrest as “illegitimate and immoral from start to finish.”
Özel argued that appointing trustees to replace elected officials disregards the choices of local voters, particularly in Kurdish-majority areas, where elected mayors have frequently been removed by government intervention. He suggested that such appointments are part of a larger attempt to control opposition voices, stating, “The recent actions in Esenyurt show that the government is using leftover tactics from past political purges to sideline elected officials.” He added, “How can they claim to solve issues while denying representation for the Kurdish community?”
Özel also referenced other opposition figures, such as prominent Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş and former CHP Istanbul Chair Canan Kaftancıoğlu, who have faced prosecution under what he described as “politically motivated charges”. He warned that these trustee appointments and prosecutions are “meant to silence opposition and destabilise Turkey by sowing conflict and distrust.”
Calling for early elections to address what he termed an “authoritarian regime”, Özel stated, “All our actions are aimed at forcing elections sooner, not later.” Addressing President Erdoğan directly, he continued, “If you’re ready, Mr Erdoğan, so are we.” He pledged that the CHP and allied opposition parties would work together to reverse the government’s tactics, vowing, “We will bring the ballot box, and we will see Erdoğan out.”
