70 percent of population in southeast opposed to trustees replacing mayors

A survey conducted in the southeast of Turkey revealed that 70 percent of the population there opposes the replacement of elected mayors with trustees. Conducted by the Center for Sociopolitical Field Research, the survey featured 5,100 participants, 16 percent of which said they condoned the policy, while 14 percent remained undecided. The government has assigned trustee mayors to more than 20 municipalities that had been won by the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP).

Friday January 03 2020 05:41 pm

Duvar English

A survey by the Sociopolitical Field Research Center revealed 70 percent of the population is opposed to the government's replacement of elected mayors with trustees.

The center conducted the survey amongst 5,100 people in the southeastern cities of Diyarbakır, Mardin, Batman, Van, Siirt, Muş, Iğdır, Kars, Şırnak and Hakkâri - most of which saw trustees replace their elected mayors from the pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP).

While 69.9 percent of participants said they did not support the trustees, 16 percent said they did support them, and 14 percent were undecided.

When asked if the trustee assignments changed their political preferences, 57.14 percent said it wasn't the case, while 31.8 percent said it led them to support their preferred political party even more.

The survey also revealed residents wanted local governments to further focus on cleaning services, the environment, on urban services like transportation and on cultural activities.

Finally, the survey showed that residents wished for the implementation of more social policies aimed at the youth, at socioeconomic inequality and poverty and at substance addiction.

Replacing mayors with trustees has been a recurring policy of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). More than 20 municipalities that had been won by the HDP in the local elections of March 2019 have been assigned trustees, along with one municipality the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had won.