resolution motion, 10 February 2025
On recent dismissals and arrests of mayors in Türkiye
Motion B-10-2025-0110 · (2025/2546(RSP))
on behalf of the Renew Group · Rapporteur: Malik Azmani, Oihane Agirregoitia Martínez, Petras Auštrevičius, Dan Barna, Benoit Cassart, Olivier Chastel, Veronika Cifrová Ostrihoňová, Karin Karlsbro, Ľubica Karvašová, JanChristoph Oetjen, MarieAgnes StrackZimmermann, Hilde Vautmans, Sophie Wilmès, Lucia Yar
- Voted on Thursday, 13 February 2025 · Adopted · See the decision →
- Where the law stands · dossier 2025/2546 →
AI:In short
This resolution condemns the recent dismissals and arrests of mayors in Türkiye, calling on Turkish authorities to end the practice of dismissing elected mayors on politically motivated charges and to respect local democracy. It also calls on the EU to consider imposing restrictive measures on Turkish officials involved in appointing trustees, and views the practice as a constraint on EU-Türkiye relations.
Key points
- Calls on Turkish authorities to abolish dismissals of elected mayors on politically motivated charges and to assess ineligibility before elections based only on final, lawful convictions.
- Demands that eligible elected representatives freely exercise their mandates in line with the European Charter of Local Self-Government, and that municipal councils independently select replacement mayors in case of lawful dismissal.
- Condemns the dismissal of democratically elected mayors of 10 municipalities and districts and their replacement with government trustees, calling it an attack on local democracy.
- Calls on the High Representative/Vice-President to consider imposing restrictive measures under the EU Human Rights sanction regime on Turkish officials accepting trustee roles and those nominating them.
- Considers the return to this practice after the March 2024 local elections as a sign of lack of commitment to address democratic shortcomings and a constraint on deepening EU-Türkiye relations.
Who is affected
- Turkish mayors and municipal councils, particularly those from opposition parties, who face dismissal and replacement by state-appointed trustees.
- Turkish officials who accept or nominate trustees, potentially subject to EU restrictive measures.
Figures and deadlines
Written by AI from the full text · every figure comes from the text · ¶ opens the paragraph · 4 Sept 2026 · Report a problem
Full text
Text 16 paragraphs
B100110/2025
Motion for a European Parliament resolution on recent dismissals and arrests of mayors in Türkiye
(2025/2546(RSP))
The European Parliament,
- having regard to the European Charter of Local Self-Government
- having regard to Rule 150 of its Rules of Procedure
whereas Sofya Alagas, mayor of Siirt, was dismissed from office on 29 January 2025 following her sentence of six years and three months in prison for alleged membership in the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK);
whereas Hoşyar Sarıyıldız, mayor of Akdeniz Municipality, was taken into custody on 10 January 2025, on charges, inter alia, of membership in an illegal organization, followed by his referral for arrest on 13 January 2025; whereas, the both co-mayors, as well as four municipal council members, were dismissed and replaced with a state-appointed trustee;
whereas on 12 January 2025, Riza Akpolat, the mayor of Istanbul's central Besiktas district, was detained by police in an investigation into an alleged criminal organization suspected of rigging public tenders;
whereas, on 30 October 2024, Ahmet Ozer, the mayor of Istanbul's Esenyurt district from main opposition party CHP, was arrested for alleged membership in the PKK;
whereas specific targeting of opposition politicians and mayors undermines the ability of the political opposition to exercise their rights and fulfil their democratic roles; is deeply concerned by continuous democratic backsliding in Türkiye;
calls on the Turkish authorities to abolish the practice of dismissals of democratically elected mayors on politically motivated charges, ensuring that ineligibility of candidates is assessed prior to the elections and is based only on final, lawful and impartial criminal convictions; to allow eligible and elected representatives to freely exercise their mandates in line with the European Charter of Local Self-Government and to grant municipal councils the power to independently select replacement mayors in the event of a lawful dismissal, and only for the period until new representatives are legitimately elected in a new election;
condemns Turkish Government’s decision to dismiss the democratically elected mayors of 10 municipalities and districts and to replace them with government trustees appointed by the Interior Ministry; regards this long-standing practice of appointing trustees as a blatant attack on the most basic principles of local democracy;
calls on the HR/VP to consider imposing restrictive measures under the EU Human Rights sanction regime on the Turkish officials accepting to be trustees and on those nominating them;
considers the decision of the Turkish government to return to this practice, after the last local elections of March 2024 as an indication, of its lack of commitment to fundamentally address the democratic shortcomings in the country; remaining one of the constraints to deepening EU-Türkiye’s relationship.
instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the EEAS, and the President, Government and Parliament of Türkiye and have it translated into Turkish.