Election (almost) denied: Winning DEM Party mayor not replaced by runner-up in Van
UPDATE: Shortly after we published this article, Turkey's High Election Board ruled to reinstate Abdullah Zeydan's eligibility as a candidate and grant him the mandate to govern. If all goes as expected, Zeydan will be the new mayor of Van, along with his co-chair, Neslihan Şedal.
Here is the background of what happened over the last two days in Van:
VAN – In Sunday’s local elections, DEM Party mayoral candidate Abdullah Zeydan won with more than 55 percent of votes in Van, one of Turkey’s largest Kurdish-majority municipalities.
But the provincial electoral board decided Tuesday that Zeydan was unfit to serve as mayor. Instead, the board ruled his closest rival, Abdulahat Arvas of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), should serve as mayor. Arvas received 27 percent of the vote.
The city of Van has since been gripped by protests, as thousands took the streets following the ruling. Security forces fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters Tuesday, and clashes continue today (Wednesday) in the city center.
DEM Party filed an objection to the ruling, calling on the government to reverse its "wrong decision."
"Our people show their democratic reaction and objection everywhere against the AKP's seizure of their will," Zeydan told Turkey recap Tuesday during an interview in the DEM branch in the city center.
"The AKP government doesn't want this protest to be visible. We know what will happen next from our previous experiences. If they reach their goal in Van, it will not be limited only here. It will also spread to western Turkey,” he said, referring to the government’s record of replacing elected officials.
“Everyone, even those in AKP who believe in lawful order, should object to this situation," Zeydan added.
Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Özgür Özel said handing the mayorship to the runner-up candidate was "disregarding the will of the people of Van".
In the lead up to Sunday’s elections, uncertainty remained over whether elected DEM Party candidates would be allowed to keep their positions. Since 2016, the Turkish government has replaced many elected officials with state-appointed trustees in eastern and southeastern municipalities.
Multiple Van residents told Turkey recap that they viewed the YSK decision to hand the mayorship to the AKP as the equivalent of appointing a trustee.
Şevket Acar, who joined protests Tuesday, said the AKP’s ruling coalition was trying to achieve what they couldn't do in the ballot boxes with a "fake court order".
"There was no problem with our mayor during the election," Acar said. "But now, they try to extort the will of the people of Van with a fabricated decision after the election is over. We will never accept this unlawfulness and dishonor."
In November 2016, Zeydan was arrested with prominent Kurdish politicians, including Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, former co-chairs of DEM’s predecessor party.
Zeydan remained in prison on terror-related charges until January 2023 and became one of the DEM's municipal candidates for the 2024 local elections after he received a "reinstatement of suspended rights," meaning clearance to participate in elections.
However, according to the DEM Party's statement Tuesday, the Justice Ministry objected to Zeydan's candidacy five minutes before government offices closed Friday. An immediate court decision was then issued, stating he did not have the right to stand as a candidate on the same day, less than 48 hours before polls opened Sunday.
Zeydan's lawyer, Mahsuni Karaman, defined the developments as "unlawful" at a press conference Tuesday.
"This is not a situation just limited to Mr. Zeydan," Karaman said. "I think this is a systematic, pre-planned conspiracy. Such a conspiracy can be made against provincial, district municipalities, or municipal council members and legal attacks can be made through politics."
The sentiments were echoed by Eyüp Kartal, a Van resident protesting in Van Tuesday.
"They try to disregard and intimidate people through policies of destruction and denial," Kartal told Turkey recap. "If we don't resist, it will be like this in all provinces and all points of Kurdistan."
Several protests were held across the country following events in Van with 89 people arrested in the early morning hours Wednesday, according to Interior Min. Ali Yerlikaya.
Many politicians, including AKP’s former Van MP Hüseyin Çelik and İstanbul mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, also criticized the electoral board decision, as the latter called it “unacceptable”.
Zeydan said the support from CHP and other politicians was positive, but told Turkey recap that more pressure would be needed to reverse the board decision.
“This is not just about the co-chairs of the Van municipality,” Zeydan said. “This is a coup against the people’s will.”
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