"The situation of mayors and local elected representatives in Turkey, who continue to be detained and suspended on charges of terrorism-related offences and replaced by State trustees, has long been a matter of serious concern to the Congress," Yoomi Renström (Sweden, SOC/V/DP), Congress co-rapporteur on Turkey, underlined during the meeting of the Monitoring Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly held online on 13 November 2020.
"Following our fact-finding visits and the adoption of a report in 2017, the Congress has repeatedly called on the Turkish authorities to respect the free will of the voters and the principle of fair elections," Renström said. She recalled that the opinion of the Venice Commission confirmed that the decision of the Turkish Supreme Electoral Council to deny winning candidates their legitimate mandate is incompatible with international standards. Also, that the decisions of the Turkish Ministry of the Interior to suspend elected mayors would undermine the very nature of local self-government as enshrined in the European Charter of Local Self-Government.
"The Venice Commission's recommendation that decisions on the denial of mandate and dismissal of mayors and candidates should be annulled and repealed, so that the fundamental principle of the free will of the electorate is fully recognised, is in line with the Congress' recommendations," the co-rapporteur stated.
"We regret that despite all previous Congress missions, recommendations and declarations, the situation of mayors and local elected representatives remains unresolved and continues to deteriorate," she added, referring to the recent detentions of the mayors in the south-east of the country.
"The Congress is determined to continue to pursue dialogue with the Turkish authorities and to offer advice and assistance. We are convinced that a medium-term strategy must be developed, together with the Turkish authorities, in order to reconcile the deplorable working conditions of local elected representatives in the south-east with the provisions of the European Charter of Local Self-Government, which is the reference for local democracy in Europe," Ms Renström concluded.
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