Marc Cools (Belgium, ILDG) and Bryony Rudkin (United Kingdom, SOC/G/PD), Rapporteurs on the situation of local democracy in Türkiye of the Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of the Council of Europe, have made the following statement:
"We deplore the recent developments affecting Türkiye's main opposition party, CHP. Reports of heavy police intervention, including the use of tear gas against party members, elected representatives and demonstrators, are deeply troubling. These events arise amid longstanding concerns regarding the rights of the oppositions, freedoms of assembly and expression, as systematically documented by the Congress in consecutive fact-finding and monitoring visits.
"A little over two years after the 2024 elections, it is now estimated that over 80 municipalities have experienced challenges reversing electoral outcomes, through trustee appointments, dismissals, arrests and changes in political affiliation.
"Elected representatives derive their authority from the ballot box. When the will of voters is threatened, the citizens are disenfranchised.
"As the CHP stood as the largest party at local level following the 2024 elections, these developments raise significant alarm for local and regional democracy in Türkiye in the months ahead.
"The continuous pattern of arrests and judicial proceedings disproportionately targeting opposition politicians, including the detention of over 20 mayors, many in pre-trial detention and at risk of lengthy prison sentences, amounts to a dangerous and escalating restriction of democratic pluralism.
"Referring to the recent joint open letter of European political assemblies, we call on the authorities to urgently reverse these current trends."
The Congress will continue to engage in open dialogue with Turkish stakeholders and to follow closely the developments in Türkiye, in particular at its next Bureau and Monitoring Committee meetings in June.
