DEM Party's local government statement set to anger Erdoğan!

The DEM Party has published a declaration regarding its Democratic Local Governments Interim Meeting held on May 25-26.

The statement emphasized the new resolution process initiated by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli, which the government calls a 'Terror-Free Turkey' and which has continued with the dissolution of the terrorist organization PKK following the call by terrorist leader Abdullah Öcalan. The statement said the following:

"In order to put an end to the suffering and destruction experienced, Mr. Abdullah Öcalan assumed a historic responsibility on February 27 and made the call of the century. This call also provides Turkey with the opportunity for a new transformation based on the democratic nation paradigm. The democratic nation paradigm is the guarantee of an equal, free, and coexistent life for Turkey's multi-identity, multi-lingual, and multi-faith social structure."

The phrase "We demand the removal of the administrative and financial tutelage of the central government over local administrations" in the 4th article of the declaration brought to mind the recent statements by AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who proposed amendments to the law on local governments.

It was noted that such a statement came from the DEM Party following Erdoğan's desire for the central government to be more effective over municipalities.

The statement and demands made by DEM are as follows:

"1- We demand the withdrawal of trustees from all municipalities where trustees have been appointed and the reinstatement of elected officials to their duties,

2- The amendment of the relevant articles of the Municipalities Law No. 5393, which allows for the appointment of trustees, to put an end to trustee appointments,

3- The definition of co-chairmanship, which is in the Law on Political Parties, to also be defined in the Municipalities Law,

4- The removal of the administrative and financial tutelage of the central government over local administrations,

5- The legal guarantee of democratic organization areas such as neighborhood assemblies, city councils, and village communes, where the public is directly involved in decision-making processes, going beyond representative democracy,

6- The revision of legal articles in the laws on municipalities and provincial special administrations that restrict the authority of these institutions, and their regulation within the framework of the principle of local democracy,

7- We firmly demand the removal of the reservations Turkey has placed on the European Charter of Local Self-Government."