Following the appointment of trustees to 28 municipalities by the government earlier this month, another municipality in the İdil district of the southeastern province of Şırnak has been taken over by the government, media reports said on Wednesday.
İdil District Governor Ersin Tepeli was appointed as the mayor of İdil by the Interior Ministry on Wednesday morning. After the trustee appointment, Turkish flags were hung on the walls of the municipal building by security forces.
Members of the İdil City Council left the municipal building after Tepeli took over the mayoral post.
İdil Co-mayor Mehmet Muhdi Arslan described the appointment of a trustee to his municipality as a “usurpation” of the public will.
In early September Turkey’s Interior Ministry appointed trustees to 28 local municipalities, 24 of which were allegedly linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), while the other four were allegedly connected to the faith-based Gülen movement.