The members of the Dem Party in the Gizeltep City Council called for the resignation of the mayor; where did the story start?

According to Kurdistan Press, the dispute between the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (Dem Party) and Zeynep Aypak, the mayor of the large city of Gizeltep in Mardin province, has once again reached the city council. The Dem Party members in the council, along with representatives of civil society organizations and a number of citizens, gathered before the regular October meeting and, chanting slogans of "betrayal" and "resignation", demanded the resignation of Aypak.Zinni Aipec and the person who was in charge of the municipality on his behalf did not attend the meeting. The meeting was chaired by Yusuf Soljan, the deputy chairman of the city council from the Dem Party.

Where did the story start?

The tension between Aipec and the Dem Party dates back to the summer of 2024, when private pictures attributed to him were published on social media. According to Mediascope, the Dem Party launched a disciplinary investigation into Aipec on August 2, 2024, after receiving complaints and documents that the party said showed behavior that was contrary to its program, principles, and moral values.

In response, Aipec claimed that it had been the target of “conspiracy and threats through private pictures.” It said it had introduced the perpetrators of this act to the party, but it claimed that no action had been taken against them.No public or definitive court ruling has been issued regarding the allegations regarding these images, and this part of the story remains limited to the claims of the parties.

AIPAC initially announced that he would resign from the party and continue his activities as an independent mayor; but he backed down from this decision shortly after. In a statement, he apologized to the people and the party, and announced that he would not formalize his resignation and would temporarily hand over the authority of the municipality to a council member until the disciplinary process was completed.

At that point, he admitted that he had made an emotional decision in the heavy atmosphere that had developed, and promised to provide the party with the necessary information and accept the results of the disciplinary investigation.