Protests and clashes in Türkiye after Erdogan's government canceled the victory of an opposition candidate for mayor

Election officials in Türkiye canceled the election of a pro-Kurdish candidate His party said on Tuesday that he will take over as mayor of the eastern city of Van Protests and clashes With the police, while opposition politicians criticized the measure.

Police used tear gas and water cannons to break up a demonstration in the city of Van, where the Democratic Movement Party said its candidate in Sunday's municipal elections had been announced. Disqualified at the last minute. Demonstrations also took place in the economic center of Istanbul.

The re-elected mayor of Istanbul wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that the ruling was “unacceptable.” Ekrem ImamogluHe is considered a potential presidential candidate in the upcoming elections.

He asked the government and the Electoral Commission to “respect the will of the people.”

During the municipal elections that took place on Sunday nationwide. Abdullah Zidane The DDP won more than 55% of the vote in the city of Van, which is located on Lake Van, about 80 kilometers from Turkey's eastern border with Iran.

His exclusion left the way open for the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development Party led by the president. Recep Tayyip Erdogan The Democratic Party added in a statement that he assumed the position of mayor with only 27% of the vote.

Democrats said that just two days before the vote, the Justice Department annulled the court's decision to restore Zidane's right to run in the elections.

Zidane was elected to Parliament by the Peoples' Democratic Party (now DEM) in 2015, however He was arrested in 2016 Along with dozens of other representatives after they criticized the aerial bombardment carried out by the Turkish army against illegal Kurdish militants in the southeast of the country.

Speaking to reporters during a demonstration in front of the Supreme Election Council in the capital, Ankara, the DDP co-chair said, Tuncer BakirhanHe told reporters that Van suffered “Political coup.”

He explained that the residents of the region reject the mayors imposed on them because of the exclusion of the winning candidates in the elections.

He added: “This is not the way to respect the will of the people,” as Erdogan promised on election night. Selahattin DemirtasThe former leader of the Democratic Democratic Party, in a statement from the prison where he has been held since 2016 on charges of terrorism.

“We call on all our people, especially the residents of Van, and all pro-democracy political forces and parties to oppose this illegality,” he added in the text delivered through his lawyer.

Zidane can appeal the decision, which sparked protests in Van province, which is inhabited by about 1.1 million people.

Television footage showed hundreds of demonstrators gathering outside the Democratic Movement headquarters in Van in a show of solidarity.

“Abdullah Zidane is an honor for us.”They chanted. “Government-appointed secretaries cannot dissuade us.”

The police opened fire Tear gas and water cannons To break up the protest.

About 150 people also demonstrated in the Asian part of Istanbul in protest against the decision of the Regional Electoral Commission, raising banners that read: “No to government administration” and “Do not affect the will of the Kurdish people.”According to the agency's photographer France Press agency Present in the place.

Spokesman for the Justice and Development Party Omar CelikHe said the issue was at the discretion of the regional electoral commission, not the Ankara government.

“If (the party) wants to appeal the decision, the mechanisms for that are clear,” he told reporters after the party's central executive committee meeting.

Celik also criticized clashes in Van between police and protesters, who he said threw stones at officers.

“Democratic protest is everyone’s right. There is no place to turn it into a violent incident or attack the police,” he said.

Ozgur OzilThe leader of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), whose candidates won Istanbul and Ankara, as well as cities within Anatolia in Sunday's elections, has backed the DDP and called the annulment of Zeidane's victory a “disgrace.”

During Sunday's municipal elections, the DDP, which authorities accuse of having links to illegal Kurdish militants, took control of the mayors of major cities in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast, including the region's largest city. Diar Baker.

After the 2019 elections. 52 mayors elected by the Peoples' Democratic Party (now DEM) in the south-east were stripped of their positions They were replaced by state-appointed officials due to their alleged links to Kurdish militants.

This followed the 2016 attempted coup against Erdogan's government, which led to a widespread crackdown on opponents of all stripes.

(Information from Agence France-Presse)