BRUSSELS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 20th August, 2019) The European Union called on Turkey on Monday to respect the results of the regional elections after it suspended three mayors over alleged ties to an outlawed Kurdish group.
The mayors in the Kurdish-majority southeastern cities of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van were replaced with state appointees after being accused of having links to the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party.
"The replacement of Selcuk Mızraklı, Bedia Ozgokce Ertan and Ahmet Turk by state governors is of serious concern as it puts the respect of the democratic outcomes of the 31 March elections into question," EU Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic said in a statement.
Separately, Turkish police arrested 418 people in 29 provinces on the same accusations.
Kocijancic warned that dismissals and detentions of local politicians "deprive voters of political representation at local level, and seriously risk damaging local democracy."
She said that while the European Union recognized Turkey's legitimate right to fight terrorism it expected that Ankara would ensure fundamental freedoms, and urged the government to revive a "credible political process."
