Turkey Refuses to Let Pro-Kurdish Mayor Take Office, Installs Member of Erdogan’s Party Instead
Turkish election officials on Tuesday refused to allow pro-Kurdish Mayor-Elect Abdullah Zeydan take office in the city of Van. Instead, the national government tried to install a member of authoritarian President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party as mayor, even though Zeydan defeated him by almost 30 points in the election. The decision was reversed by Turkey’s High Election Board on Wednesday after unrest spread across southeastern Turkey.