The HDP won the majority of municipal offices affected by the trustee regime in the south-east of Turkey. Following the elections, replacement of elected mayors by trustees resumed with the decision of the Ministry of the Interior of 19 August 2019 referred to above. From then on a total of 32 HDP mayors – out of 65 – have been removed due to terrorism-related charges, such as alleged links to the armed PKK (e.g. with reference to the offence of “making propaganda for a terrorist organisation”). According to the information available to the rapporteurs, the trustees appointed did not convene the local councils, an omission which was criticised by civil society organisations as preventing the councils from functioning. It is understood that 23 of the suspended mayors remain in pre-trial detention, including the mayor of the metropolitan city Diyarbakır.