Gov’t-ally MHP calls for new regulation to ‘prevent’ appointment of trustee mayors
In a surprising move, the ruling alliance partner MHP’s deputy chair has called for a new regulation “to prevent arrests or the appointment of trustees” to replace the elected mayors. The Turkish government recently ousted six opposition mayors, citing their ongoing investigations on “terrorism” charges.
Duvar English
Turkish government-ally, far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Deputy Chair Feti Yıldız on Nov. 28 called for a new regulation for trustee mayoral appointments in the laws regarding elections and political parties.
“In order to prevent arrests or the appointment of trustees with the latest practices, we have to reconsider the Election Law, the Law on Political Parties, and discuss this issue calmly, without forgetting the presumption of innocence,” Yıldız said while speaking at the 2025 budget talks of the Justice Ministry at the Parliament.
In the new wave of the government’s crackdown on opposition municipalities, the Interior Ministry has recently replaced six mayors from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party.
For example, Istanbul’s Esenyurt district mayor from the CHP, Ahmet Özer, was arrested on Oct. 30 on alleged charges of "membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) armed terrorist organization."
Meanwhile, MHP leader Bahçeli seems to call for a new round of peace talks with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). He invited jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan to come to the Parliament and announced the end of the insurgency.
Previously, he called for the closure of the DEM Party on several occasions, saying it has ties to the PKK.
Yıldız also called for the postponement of execution for “Elderly and sick convicts who are incapable of living on their own.”