CHP to start vigil in front of Esenyurt Municipality following removal and arrest of its mayor
Turkish main opposition CHP will start holding vigils in front of the Esenyurt Municipality in Istanbul after its mayor was arrested and removed from his post by the government.
Duvar English
Turkish main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) will start holding vigils in front of the Esenyurt Municipality building located in Istanbul on Nov. 4. The decision came after Esenyurt district mayor, Ahmet Özer, was arrested and replaced by a trustee by the government.
The assigned MPs and party members will be on the vigil at Esenyurt Municipality until Nov. 17. CHP Group Deputy Chair Gökhan Günaydın, Deputy Chair Gül Çiftçi, Istanbul MP Turan Taşkın Özer and Ankara MP Aliye Timisi Ersever have been assigned for the first vigil starting on Nov. 4.
Esenyurt district mayor, Ahmet Özer, was arrested on Oct. 30 on alleged charges of "membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) armed terrorist organization."
The government once again undemocratically appointed a trustee to replace Özer, in a move some called an intimidation against Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu.
Meanwhile, CHP Istanbul head Özgür Çelik told the daily Cumhuriyet on Nov. 3 that four MPs will visit Özer in prison every day.
“We have prepared a 15-day plan. First of all, our CHP group room in Esenyurt Municipality will be open every day. We will demand that a deputy mayor be elected from within the municipal assembly and that the trustee be reinstated,” he said.