Turkey’s election authority has scrapped a decision to annul an pro-Kurdish candidate’s election victory after days of escalating protests. Abdullah Zeydan won the mayoral elections in the eastern province of Van with more than 55% of the vote.
But election officials handed victory to a man standing for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party with less than half his vote.
Their decision led to protests and clashes across south-eastern Turkey.
Regional officials in Van overturned Abdullah Zeydan’s election win, citing a previous conviction during a crackdown on pro-Kurdish politicians in 2016.
Van was one of 10 areas won by the pro-Kurdish DEM party in Turkey’s south and south-east in last Sunday’s local elections.
The ruling AK Party suffered its first election defeat across the country since 2002, as the main opposition party, the CHP, won in 35 provincial capitals and regained control of the main cities of Istanbul and Ankara.
Credit: bbc.com
