Reactions of political parties to the appointment of trustees to municipalities

With the order of the latest statutory decree passed under state of emergency, 28 heads of municipalities in 15 provinces have been replaced with ‘appointed trustees.’ While 24 of these municipality heads have been replaced with charges of their connection to PKK, 4 others were found to be in support of FETÖ/PDY.

As there have been local protests against this decision in several provinces, representatives of political parties in opposition have also expressed their reactions.

Meanwhile, President Erdoğan responded to these reactions, where opposition parties asked ‘how a trustee could be appointed to an elected office’, by saying ‘It could very well be done!’ President Erdoğan has also expressed that ‘this was an action taken too late.’ And, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli has also shared his views in support of AKP’s decision in this regard.

DBP Co-chair Sebahat Tuncel: ‘Resisting against this civil coup is a legitimate right’

Giving a statement at her party’s HQs after the announcement of the appointments, DBP (Democratic Regions Party) Co-chair Sebahat Tuncel expressed that appointment of trustees to municipalities is ‘an act that is no different from what would have been done under a coup’. Stating that ‘resisting against this civil coup is a legitimate right’, Tuncel also commented on the raid of police to these municipalities, where they had said ‘we have seized control here.’ Tuncel said: “This mindset is not different than the mindset of the Peace at Home Council which took over the power on September 12, 1980. Today, AKP government is leading a similar path... For us, both approaches are the same. Not just the Kurdish people but all people of Turkey must object to this. Those who are running the country through statutory decrees today cannot grant rights and freedoms of people in this country.”

Emphasizing that they are not going to recognize the newly appointed trustees as DBP, Tuncel also called on all political parties and the people of the country to react and resist against this regulation and stated her party is ready for a new election, by saying: “If you have doubts about these municipalities being the true representatives of the people, then, let’s hold elections tomorrow!”

Pointing out that AKP gets its strength in these regions (eastern and southeastern Turkey) from provincial governors and mayors, rather than district municipalities, Tuncel reminded that those new trustees are the supporters of the ruling party who has recently ‘destroyed Silopi, Cizre, Silvan, and Sur’; who has given the command for the people of the region to be oppressed and forced out of their lands.

HDP Spokesperson Ayhan Bilgen: ‘Appointing these trustees is paving the ground for a civil war’

HDP Spokesperson held a press conference at party HQs in regards to the appointment of trustees to 28 municipalities. Asserting that these appointments are a ‘provocation’ that is ‘paving the ground for a civil war’, Bilgen said: “There is nothing to say about this any more in terms of local democracy and rule of law. The government prefers to use the term ‘duty assignment’ rather than ‘appointment of trustees’, as if the essence of the topic changes when a different terminology is used.”

Reminding that AKP officials constantly resort to a demagoguery of ‘national will’, Bilgen added: “Appointing these trustees is an act ofseizing the right of people to elect and be elected... Local governances are the executive bodies that the people can reach the easiest. By building walls around municipality buildings and cutting down the internet, you do not meet the principles of local governance: you actually carry out regulations that can only be expected under martial law.”

CHP Member of Central Executive Board Çetin Osman Budak: ‘This is called a downfall’

Talking to his party members in Antalya during the Eid ceremony, member of CHP Central Executive Board Çetin Osman Budak argued that ‘Turkey is actually not even run today’ and reminded on the past incidents where AKP had either taken backward steps or asserted ‘they had been deceived.’

Touching on the appointment of trustees, Budak said the AKP government is ‘appointing trustees to institutions where they cannot actually do so based on legal grounds.’ Defining it as an actual attempt to seize power completely, Budak said the government is trying to implement everything as they wish by turning the aftermath of the coup attempt to their advantage.

Asserting that the latest actions are not acceptable, Budak said they are actually ‘called a downfall.’

ÖDP Member of Board of Presidents Alper Taş: ‘Appointing trustees to municipalities is a policy of punishing the people’

Talking to DİHA about the question of appointed trustees, ÖDP (Freedom and Solidarity Party) Member of Board of Presidents Alper Taş has also defined the appointments as a ‘coup’ and said ‘resisting against it is a right.’

Taş gave the following statements: “Appointing trustees to municipalities is a policy of punishing the people; a policy of ‘coup.’ AKP has been continuing its civil coup which it started after the failed coup attempt of July 15. In cases of where there are discharges of municipality heads, the method to determine who will replace the position is through convening the municipality council or holding re-elections. AKP is disregarding all of these processes and trespassing the will of the people by directly appointing people who are its supporters. And, this is a coup! AKP must stop these kinds of steps and appointments of trustees.”

EMEP Chair Selma Gürkan: ‘It is absolutely legitimate to resist against these trustees’

Also talking to DİHA new agency, EMEP (Labor Party) Chair Selma Gürkan stated that the current crackdown, carried out in the name of ‘fight against the coup plot’, is not different than a coup itself.

Gürkan said: “In fact, AKP wants to rebuild the local governances, the judiciary, education sector, security forces, the army, and bureaucracy under a framework of ‘one man, one party’ dictatorship. And, all of these current regulations, including the appointment of trustees to municipalities, should be analyzed as part of this policy.”

Pointing out that the act of appointing trustees to (Kurdish) municipalities while at the same time allowing Öcalan to see his family are not actions separate from each other, Gürkan explained: “Allowing Öcalan to be visited is an effort to lessen the reaction of the public but it is a useless effort; because, the people are going to look after their sovereignty.”

AKP Deputy Chair Erol Kaya: ‘This is neither the first time, nor will it be the last!’

AKP Deputy Chair Erol Kaya, who is also responsible for local governances, has recently given statements on the appointment of these trustees while speaking at his party’s Üsküdar office. Kaya said: “We are in sadness for having seen that HDP, which has nearly 102 municipalities in eastern and southeastern provinces, have been using the resources enabled by our martyrs, our veterans, and our 79 million citizens to support terror in order to destroy our cities, rather than to advance them. Nobody has such right. Nowhere in the world can something like this be allowed. Killing people with the truck of the municipality; massacring our citizens; martyrizing police and rangers are not the duty of anyone. Both in scope of terror and in scope of FETÖ, trustees have been appointed in place of 28 municipality heads. This is neither the first time, nor will it be the last.”

Also trying to draw attention to AKP’s operations within the party itself, Kaya added the following: “AKP’s efforts with regards to FETÖ operations are also continuing within the party, as well. We have 874 municipality heads. Of these, we have discharged 4 of them from our party. And, one other municipality head has resigned both from his post and from the party. So, the number of people having left AKP is 5…AKP has 12,000 parliamentarian members; legal processes have been started on behalf of 25 of them.”

MHP Chair Bahçeli: ‘Appointment of trustees should not be considered as a coup’

Giving statements to journalists and answering their questions at the cemetery while visiting the grave of Alparslan Türkeş during Eid, MHP Chair Devlet Bahçeli shared his views in regards to the appointment of trustees to 28 municipalities and said:

“If a fight against terrorism is launched, then, the action taken is right! Even if it had been a municipality of MHP (Nationalist Movement Party), it would have been the right thing to do.”

Also talking about what Turkey has been going through since July 15 coup attempt, Bahçeli said ‘stability must be ensured in Turkey as soon as possible.’ Emphasizing the need for unity, Bahçeli asserted ‘everyone must fulfill their responsibility’ in this regard.

When asked about the status of the 28 municipalities again, Bahçeli said: “In Pozantı, the municipality head was from MHP. After he was taken into custody, the Pozantı Municipality Council handed over presidency of the municipality to the trustee that had been appointed... So, appointment of trustees should not be considered as a coup against the elected officials... If we think back a little and look at how municipality services were handled between July 20th and today, we remember the ‘ditches’. So, it should be evaluated by taking into consideration how PKK is defended.”