Shafaq News/ The Turkish Ministry of Interior announced onWednesday the removal of Sofya Alagas, mayor of Siirt in southeastern Turkiye.
In a statement, the Ministry revealed that Alagas’ removalis due to a previous courtruling that sentenced her to six years and three months in prison for allegedaffiliation with the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), an organization linkedto the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is designated as “aterrorist organization” by Turkiye, the EU, and the United States.
The Ministry has appointed Siirt Governor Kemal Kızılkayaas a trustee to oversee the municipality, describing the move as"temporary." However, in previous cases, removed mayors have rarelybeen reinstated despite being elected.
Alagas, amember of the pro-Kurdish Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party), is among 10mayors removed or arrested since the March 31, 2024, local elections. Whilesome belong to the Republican People's Party (CHP), Turkiye's largestopposition party, the majority are from the DEM Party, which holds 57 seats inthe 600-member Turkish parliament.
This pattern of removing elected mayors, particularly frompro-Kurdish parties, has been a recurring practice in Turkiye. Following thefailed coup attempt in July 2016, the government imposed a state of emergency,leading to the dismissal of 28 mayors from the Democratic Regions Party (DBP)and their replacement with state-appointed trustees.
A similar wave occurred in 2019, when three mayors fromthe Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) were dismissed shortly after winning localelections. By the end of that year, 24 HDP mayors had been replaced.
The government justifies these actions under Article 127of the Turkish Constitution and Law No. 5271, which allow for the suspension orremoval of officials accused of terrorism-related crimes. However, rightsgroups and international organizations, including Human Rights Watch andAmnesty International, argue that these measures are politically motivated andintended to curtail Kurdish political representation.
Meanwhile, the European Union and the Council of Europe havecriticized Turkiye’s continued removal of elected officials, warning that suchmeasures erode democratic governance and the rule of law.
Despite international condemnation, Ankara maintains thatthese actions are essential for national security, citing alleged ties to thePKK.
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