President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the taking over of municipalities by the government and the replacement of elected mayors with government-appointed trustees will once again become an exception rather than common practice as Turkey enters a new period in its fight against terrorism, following the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) recent announcement that it was laying down its arms and disbanding, the private IHA news agency reported on Wednesday.
The PKK on Monday announced its dissolution following a congress held in northern Iraq earlier this month, formally ending a four-decade-long armed conflict that has claimed over 40,000 lives.
Erdoğan, who spoke at his party’s parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday, said he believes trustee appointments in municipalities “will once again become the exception” following the PKK’s announcement of dissolution.
Turkey’s controversial practice of appointing state trustees (kayyım) to replace elected mayors accused of terrorism ties dates back to 2016, when a decree law passed during a post-coup state of emergency granted the government sweeping authority to remove local officials under investigation. The measure, citing national security concerns, has faced strong criticism for undermining democratic norms and disenfranchising voters.
According to the Interior Ministry, from 2016 to the 2019 local elections, trustees were assigned to 101 municipalities, 94 of which were run by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), and 151 city council members were also dismissed. Major Kurdish-majority cities like Diyarbakır, Van and Mardin were among those placed under trustee control.
Following the 2019 elections, only six of the 65 municipalities won by the HDP avoided trustee intervention. After the most recent local elections on March 31, 2024, the practice extended beyond the HDP to include elected mayors from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) as well. The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the successor to the HDP, has accused the ruling AKP of using trustee appointments as a form of “political revenge,” particularly in provinces where it lost electoral ground.
Rights groups and international observers have repeatedly warned that the policy weakens local self-government and erodes democratic accountability in Turkey’s municipal system.
Turkey’s intel agency to oversee PKK’s compliance with dissolution process
Erdoğan said that what truly matters about the PKK dissolution announcement is its implementation, which will be monitored by the country’s intel agency.
“Our National Intelligence Organization [MİT] will meticulously monitor whether the commitments are being fulfilled. Once the group carries out its responsibilities, it will be up to politics to address and advance the remaining issues,” he added.
Saying that this is a moment to “strengthen our unity, sense of brotherhood and national solidarity,” the president invited everyone to remain calm and hopeful while maintaining a level-headed approach throughout the process.
The PKK’s declaration was the culmination of seven months of work to renew long-stalled talks that began in October, when Ankara offered its jailed founder Abdullah Öcalan an unexpected olive branch. Öcalan urged his militants in late February to disarm and disband in a letter from prison on İmralı Island, where he has been held since 1999.
The PKK, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.