Local elections will be held in Turkey on 31 March. The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has taken over from the HDP, which is under threat of being banned, and advocates decentralisation of the political system of government and consideration of regional characteristics. The DEM party is going into the local elections with the demand to solve the Kurdish question and to put the general question of democracy in Turkey back on the agenda in order to overcome the numerous crises in the country. A corresponding roadmap of the party was published in December.

Unlike in previous elections, the DEM party wants to have the local population decide on the candidates for mayoral offices and seats on city and municipal councils by consensus this time. This decision is a consequence of the parliamentary elections in May last year. The loss of votes at that time was not explained by the massive repression; instead, a months-long process of criticism and self-criticism took place in all committees and with the party base. One of the points of criticism was the lack of consideration given to the local associations when selecting candidates.

In Amed (tr. Diyarbakır), the selection of candidates is to take place at a people's assembly on Sunday. This was announced by the provincial association of the DEM party today in Koşuyolu Park. The co-chair of the provincial branch, Pınar Sakık Tekin, invited people to the meeting and said: "Hundreds of candidates are preparing for the primary elections as a celebration of democracy. They not only want to run for office, but also want to take a stand against the fascist mentality. In the local elections, we will reject the trustees and end the dark period that is a nightmare for our people."

Tekin pointed out that the ruling parties want to influence the local elections by registering voters in the Kurdish provinces. In recent weeks, such cases have become known in many places. The DEM party had already publicised in December that over a thousand people with the same address were registered in Iğdır. The police headquarters in Iğdır is the registration address of 743 men who are eligible to vote. In Van, eighty AKP-affiliated families from other provinces have moved into flats for earthquake victims and do not have to pay rent. In Hakkari, numerous military personnel from cities such as Tokat and Rize have been registered.

In this context, DEM politician Pınar Sakık Tekin spoke of a "usurpation of the will of the voters" and explained that the practice introduced by the Turkish government in 2016 of having elected mayors arrested and appointing state trustees in their place followed a hundred-year-old tradition and was intolerable for the population: "Our people will not accept the trustee administration and will not capitulate to this mentality."