The Turkish Interior Ministry last week removed the mayors of Diyarbakır, Van, and Mardin, who were elected from the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) in local polls on March 31. The government appointed the governors of those provinces temporarily as new mayors.
“I have brought you the greetings of 16 million people from Istanbul. I hope that they put an end to this lawlessness soon,‘’ İmamoğlu told the dismissed mayor of Diyarbakır, Selçuk Mızraklı and Mardin, Ahmet Türk.
İmamoğlu stressed the need to strengthen the voice of democracy in the country across the political spectrum.
“We are here to give you strength… our concern is the damage being inflicted on the democracy of our country. If democracy strengthens and the local administrations are in competition, believe me we will solve all of the problems on this land,‘’ İmamoğlu said.
HDP’s Türk said that despite being in different areas of the political spectrum, Turkey’s political groups should be able to work together in a common democratic struggle.
“We have come to the point where we no longer have tolerance,‘’ Türk said. “That is why we are emphasising the importance of cooperation and partnership.‘’
“Your arrival here is a source of hope for us. We thank you,‘’ Mızraklı said.
The Kurdish votes played a pivotal role in Turkish opposition’s victories in five of the six most populous provinces of the country in March polls as the HDP did not field candidates in those places
“I want to remind the dates March 31 and June 23 once more to those who seemed to have forgotten how the people responded to those dismissals and election reruns that had been despite the disapproval of the public’s conscience,” İmamoğlu said.
“It has been seen that a small minority that resorted to lies and smears to cancel the Istanbul election in fact intended to continue squandering practices, which they greatly exploited. Unfortunately, there are signs showing that the intention behind the practice of government-appointed mayors is also to sustain these squandering schemes,” İmamoğlu said.