CHP, DEM MPs protest trustees during Interior Minister’s speech in Parliament

Lawmakers from Turkey's opposition CHP and DEM Party protested trustee appointments during Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya’s speech in parliament, calling trustees "a coup against democracy." Yerlikaya defended the practice, saying municipalities must not align with terrorism.

Monday December 16 2024 04:51 pm

Duvar English

Lawmakers from Turkey's opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party on Dec. 15 held up placards protesting the appointment of trustees to municipalities during Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya's speech at the Parliament.

CHP ve DEM Parti'den Ali Yerlikaya'nın Meclis'teki konuşması sırasında kayyım protestosuhttps://t.co/9GnNTdxw4G pic.twitter.com/07AhItszMV
— duvaR (@gazeteduvar) December 14, 2024

Yerlikaya had taken the stand during the budgetary discussions for the Labor and Social Security and Interior Ministries.

Throughout Yerlikaya’s address, lawmakers displayed signs reading, "Trustees are a coup against the will of the people," "Budget for the people, not trustees," and "Elections are a right, trustees are a coup." They also shouted at Yerlikaya, saying, "Trustees are a disgrace to democracy" and "End the trustee regime."

Yerlikaya addressed the trustee practices during his speech. He emphasized that no municipality can abuse the authority granted to them by their people. “Mayors cannot side with terrorists or align with terrorism because terrorism has no place in politics. The only way to deal with terrorism is to fight against it, and that is what we are doing,” he said.

Following the March local elections, the Turkish government appointed trustees to DEM Party-run eastern provincial and district municipalities in Hakkari, Mardin, Batman, Şanlıurfa, Van, and Dersim. On Oct. 31, the ministry ousted the CHP mayor of Istanbul’s Esenyurt district and imprisoned him due to alleged ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The total number of municipalities replaced by trustees since the 2024 local elections has risen to eight with two from the main opposition CHP and six from the DEM Party.