The Turkish Ministry of Interior usurped the will of the people and appointed trustees to the Metropolitan Municipalities of Mardin (Mêrdîn), as well as the municipalities of Batman (Êlih) and Halfeti (Xelfetî). The three municipalities were legitimately run by the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which had won the elections on 31 March 2024.

Mardin

The police blockaded the municipality building in Mardin early on Monday morning. The notification of the appointment of the trustee was delivered to co-mayor Ahmet Türk.

Co-mayor Türk shared the following message on his social media: "Never give up. We will not step back from the struggle for democracy, peace and freedom. We will not allow the usurpation of the people's will. Know this!"

Batman

A trustee was also appointed to Batman Municipality. The municipality building was blockaded.

Gülistan Sönük, co-mayor of Batman, wrote on her social media: "We won our municipality with the highest vote rate in Turkey in the 31 March elections. We won thanks to the efforts of women, young people and our citizens. The municipality has been usurped as of this morning without any notification. We have not accepted and will not accept this plundering and usurping regime. Municipalities belong to the people."

Halfeti

A third trustee was appointed to Halfeti municipality, in Urfa (Riha). The municipality building was blockaded early in the morning, and co-mayor Mehmet Karayılan was taken into custody. People are not allowed to go near the municipality building.

Halfeti municipality co-mayor Mehmet Karayılan said: "This has been going on for years. The will of the people to govern themselves has always been a reality. Likewise, there is always a mindset that cannot accept this. This is oppression. Our people do not accept oppression. We will be with the people until the end. We will not step back. We will always remain among the people and protect their values. We are the co-mayors elected by the people, and even though we are not officially in office, we will continue to be with the people."

Halfeti municipality co-mayor Saniye Bayram also protested the appointment of a trustee and the seizure of the municipality. Bayram, who went to the front of the municipality building, said: "Shame on you! Don't do this. You sent 10 inspectors and they didn't find anything. The [previous] trustee stole from here, and you didn't do anything. [The previous trustee] Şeref Albayrak stole as much as the world. These people woke up. If there will be an election tomorrow, we will win again. We will always win."

The Turkish Ministry of Interior cited the lawsuits filed against the municipality co-mayors as the reason for the seizure decision.