Following the appointment of trustees to DBP municipalities, now the co-chair system is directly targeted.

The government appointed male trustees to 34 of 106 municipalities and shut down women’s institutions first. Now they are moving in for the “co-chair system”.

A letter sent to governorates with Minister of the Interior Süleyman Soylu deemed the “co-chair system” a crime and ordered the administrative and legal penalty processes to start with a prison sentence of up to 2 years.

The order cites Article 15 of the Political Parties Act and states: “Our legislation has defined the co-chair system for political parties alone, with the conditions that it be declared in the charter and not exceed two persons. However, there is no legislation on the co-mayor system in municipalities and other local administrations. The constituents of local administrations have been clearly stated in the law, and don’t include an organ or cadre under the name of co-mayor.”

The letter also states that official documents prepared with the signature title “Co-mayor” should be returned without processing.