The Interior Ministry has removed Siirt Co-Mayor Sofya Alağaş from office, citing a prison sentence against her, and appointed the city’s governor as a trustee to take over the municipality.
In a statement, the ministry said that Alağaş, who was sentenced to six years and three months in prison, was “temporarily suspended as a precaution.” Siirt Governor Kemal Kızılkaya has been appointed as acting mayor.
Siirt co-mayor sentenced to prison over past journalism activities
According to Mezopotamya Agency (MA), police surrounded the municipality building before notifying the co-mayors of the decision. A Turkish flag was raised on the building, while citizens continued to gather in front in protest.
Alağaş reacted to the decision on social media platform X, writing: “A trustee has been appointed to Siirt Municipality. The will of the people of Siirt has been seized.”
Meanwhile, the Siirt Governor’s Office announced a 10-day ban on public demonstrations and gatherings in the province.
Siirt Municipality’s official X account shared a post confirming the appointment of Kızılkaya as acting mayor, along with a photograph of him in the mayor’s office. The post read: “Our Governor Dr. Kemal Kızılkaya has assumed office as Siirt Municipality’s Acting Mayor.”
Alağaş, who was previously a journalist, was sentenced by Diyarbakır’s 5th Heavy Penal Court on Jan 28 on charges of “membership in a terrorist organization.”
Siirt was won by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party in the Mar. 31, 2024 local elections, securing 49.64% of the vote (37,216 votes).
2024 municipal takeovers
Following the 2024 local elections, the government took over several municipalities controlled by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), citing terrorism-related court verdicts and criminal investigations against them.
The first municipality that the government took over was the Hakkari city on June 4 due to "terrorism" charges against Mayor Mehmet Sıddık Akış.
On Oct 31, The Interior Ministry replaced the mayor of İstanbul's Esenyurt district, run by the CHP, citing a "terrorism" investigation into the mayor. This was followed on Nov 4 by the removal of the mayors of the cities of Mardin and Batman, and Urfa's Halfeti district, controlled by the DEM Party, on the grounds of ongoing "terrorism-related" criminal cases against them. The ministry has appointed governors and district governors as trustees in the place of the mayors.
On Jan 28, Siirt Co-Mayor Safiye Alağaş was removed from office shortly after receiving a prison sentence on "terrorism" charges because of her past journalism activities.
The DEM Party won 11 cities among 75 municipalities in the 2024 polls. With the most recent takeover, the DEM has lost five cities and two districts whereas the CHP has lost two districts.
Under Turkish law, the interior ministry has the authority to suspend mayors under criminal investigation, appointing trustees to act in their stead. The trustee has the authority to dissolve municipal councils, legislative bodies of municipalities, which are separately elected bodies typically composed of members from various political parties.
The government widely implemented trustee policies during the period of state of emergency following a failed coup in 2016, taking over almost all municipalities run by the HDP, the successor of the DEM Party, in the country’s Kurdish-populated regions. The party regained the municipalities in the 2019 election by winning the elections in 65 municipal areas, including eight cities. However, all but five district and town municipalities were eventually taken over by the government in the following months, citing “terrorism” investigations and cases against the mayors.
(VK)
