PodcastFour more mayors dismissed from duty
Turkey's Interior Ministry has removed from office four more mayors on terror charges and replaced them with district governors. Three of the sacked mayors are from the HDP, whereas the other is from the CHP.
Duvar English
Turkish authorities on Dec. 18 removed from office four more mayors on terror charges and replaced them with district governors, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.
The mayors of the Bulanık, Varto and Erentepe districts in the eastern province of Muş were detained earlier this week. All the three mayors are from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
The HDP had on Nov. 20 called for an early election to protest the government’s dismissal of dozens of its mayors since the March local elections.
The fourth mayor that was dismissed from duty on Dec. 18 was İbrahim Burak Oğuz, the mayor of Urla district in Aegean province of İzmir.
Oğuz, from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), is the first non-HDP mayor to be dismissed from duty since the March elections.
He was arrested by a court order on Dec. 16 over alleged links to the Gülen movement, which Turkish authorities refer to as Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).