Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Central Executive Committee made a written statement on the arrest of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

 

The statement reads: "The government, which cannot win through elections, continues its plan to rule the municipalities through judicial coups. The government, which cannot digest the reflection of all colours of the society in the municipal administrations with the 'Urban Consensus' and loses its rent sharing with this, continues to attack the will of the people. This attack is one of dozens of attacks in which lawlessness has been institutionalised. If the government thinks that it can rule Turkey with a regime of trustees, it is deeply mistaken. Just as the trustee policy was used to usurp the people's right to vote and be elected in Kurdistan, today it wants to spread it to the whole of Turkey starting from Istanbul. There is no other way out but to increase the organised struggle against this understanding that ignores the will of the people and to create a democratic society.

 

'POLITICAL COUP'

 

Just as these policies against the will of the people were condemned yesterday in Wan (Van), Mêrdin (Mardin), Êlih (Batman), Sêrt (Siirt), Dêrsim (Tunceli), Colemêrg (Hakkari), we are at the same point for Istanbul. We reject the civil political coup against the will of 16 million people. The dependent judiciary must immediately step back from this decision and the attacks against the will of the people must be abandoned."