The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe plans to send a fact-finding mission to Türkiye due to what it describes as "democratic backsliding," particularly focusing on the dismissal of elected mayors. The situation escalated with the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu on March 23, 2025, amid concerns over the legitimacy of these actions and their political motivations. Many mayors, primarily from opposition parties, have been replaced by government-appointed trustees since 2016, prompting urgency for democratic restoration efforts in the country.
"We want to see an end to the removal of mayors, the dismissal of mayors and replacement by trustees. We don't think that that's fair or appropriate..."
"We want to see a restoration, really, of democratic rights and accountability for local authorities in Turkey."
"The main points were the dismissing of [mayors] and replacement by trustees, which is not fitting with what we expect in a democracy..."
"The problem was not isolated to one political group: now it's also the party of Mr. İmamoğlu, the CHP... and we don't feel comfortable with that."
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