The first development was that on 11 April 2019, the Supreme Election Council (SEC) decided (by a majority) to deny the mayoral mandates of six successful HDP candidates in the district municipalities of Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Kars and Van. The SEC ordered that, instead, candidates that came second, all of them from the ruling AK Party, should take up these mandates. These decisions were said to be justified on the basis that these HDP candidates had been dismissed from public office in 2016 during the state of emergency by virtue of several decree laws asserting that they were associated with the failed coup attempt / terrorism (in addition to the six HDP mayors at least 62 HDP municipal and provincial councillors were also denied their mandates after being elected in the local elections).