On 4 November, the Ministry of Interior ordered the appointment of trustees to replace elected DEM Party officials in the Mardin, Batman, and Halfeti municipalities.

In the 31 March elections, the DEM Party had won in Batman, securing 65.13% of the vote (127,939 votes). Sönük was elected as co-mayor with a strong mandate.

After the appointment of the trustee, the citizens of Batman, led by women and young people, quickly took to the streets to protest, affirming their commitment to uphold their democratic choice and maintain local control over their administration.

Batman (Êlih) co-mayor Gülistan Sönük said that they first learned about the appointment of the government trustee when the police blockaded the municipality and barred entry without any formal notice. "When we arrived at the municipality in the early morning, we were denied entry," Sönük explained, adding; "There is tremendous resistance and support from the public, and the crowd is growing with each passing minute. We are here, and we will not leave our municipality until this trustee appointment is reversed. This is a legacy we have inherited from our comrades. This is a legacy we carry from figures like Edip Solmaz. Anyone who thinks we will be intimidated by threats or barricades is mistaken. Together with our people, we will resist until this decision is overturned."

Mayor Sönük underlined their commitment to continue resisting against those disregarding the will of the Kurdish people. "We won this municipality with our people. This is the municipality of a city with a population of 500,000, the municipality of women, young people, and all the active forces of Batman whose will is being ignored. Just as we fought tirelessly during the elections to reclaim these municipalities from seizure, we will continue our resistance with the same spirit. In particular, we call upon women around the world to support women's will being trampled here. We invite all women to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with us on the front lines against this institutionalized oppression."

Mayor Sönük called on leftist and socialist groups to join the resistance in Kurdistan, and said: "We are reaching out to everyone who calls themselves a democrat or a defender of rights. These municipalities belong to all of us. It belongs to the people. The appointment of these trustees aims to dismantle democracy in Turkey. This move will also try to frustrate the people’s hope for peace, unity, democracy, and solidarity.

We believe that we can nurture the hope for peace and freedom by standing together in resistance. We call on everyone who identifies as democratic, leftist, or socialist to come to the cities under trustee control and join us on the ground, shoulder-to-shoulder, to continue our struggle."