Mayor of eastern district removed from office over PKK ties

ANKARA

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya on Feb. 24 announced the removal of the mayor of the eastern province of Kars' Kağızman district, citing his ties with the PKK terrorist organization.

"Mehmet Alkan, the mayor of the Kağızman district in the province of Kars, has been temporarily suspended from his duties by the Interior Ministry because he was sentenced to six years and three months in jail on charges of membership of an armed terror group," Yerlikaya said in a statement.

Alkan, a member of the People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM Party), was elected mayor in the 2024 local elections with 32.68 percent of the votes.

The DEM Party condemned the decision, describing the move as an act against the people's right to vote and to be elected.

The removal of the Kağızman mayor from office marks the 12th similar decision in less than a year against municipalities led by the DEM Party and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP). Ten of these mayors were from the DEM Party.

The first municipality to be appointed a trustee after the local elections was the eastern province of Hakkari in June 2024.

Most recently, on Feb. 15, Van Mayor Abdullah Zeydan was removed from office after he received a prison sentence over his ties with PKK, which is recognized as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the U.S. and the EU.

In a related investigation launched on Feb. 11, 10 senior officials, including deputy mayors, from nine district municipalities in Istanbul were arrested.

The prosecutor’s office claimed that under the guise of the "urban consensus" alliance formulated during the 2024 local elections between the CHP and the DEM Party, these nine municipalities engaged in staff appointments under PKK directives.