The Kurdish mayoral candidate is still declaring his victory in the elections

On Wednesday, Turkey's Supreme Electoral Council recognized the victory of pro-Kurdish candidate Abdullah Zeidan in the city of Van in the east of the country. The regional electoral authorities had previously canceled his victory, despite Zidane obtaining at least 55% of the votes in the local elections that took place last weekend.

After his victory, regional authorities ruled that Zeidan would not participate in the elections due to his conviction in 2016. He was then arrested for criticizing the Turkish government and its military campaign against Kurdish militants. The mayor's presidency was given to the second man, the candidate of the Justice and Development Party led by current President Erdogan. This candidate received only 27 percent of the votes.

Zidane's overthrow led to large protests in Van and other cities in the pro-Kurdish east. Dozens were arrested after clashes with the police. There were also demonstrations in Istanbul, where opposition leader Ekrem Imamoglu was re-elected as mayor.

Zeidan's Democratic Party has long been accused of having ties with the PKK. In the past, Erdogan removed several mayors affiliated with the party from their positions and replaced them with pro-government candidates. In the elections that took place last weekend, which ended with a dramatic result in favor of the Justice and Development Party led by Erdogan, the Democratic Democratic Party was able to win in several cities in southeastern Turkey.

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