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Ardahan Damal Mayor Çamliyurt Arrested on Bribery Charges and Removed from Office
Hanak Peace Criminal Court issued arrest warrant on October 13; Interior Ministry removed him from office under Article 127 of the Constitution.
The Interior Ministry removed Kemal Çamliyurt, Mayor of Damal district in Ardahan, from office on October 15, 2026. According to news sources, the Ministry announced the decision through its official social media account.
Hanak Peace Criminal Court arrested Çamliyurt on bribery charges under decision No. 2026/15 dated October 13, 2026. Using this arrest as grounds, the Ministry issued a precautionary measure decision under Article 127 of the Constitution and Article 47 of the Municipal Law No. 5393.
Damal is a small border district of Ardahan province; the removal of an elected mayor from office by court decision directly affects local service management for district residents. In Turkey, the practice of removing elected municipal mayors from office following arrest has become more frequent after 2016, yet continues to generate debate each time it occurs.
Sources — how we know this
5 independent sources corroborated this
- PrimaryEkonomim (Dünya)
- CorroboratingMilliyet
- CorroboratingHürriyet
- CorroboratingTRT Haber
- CorroboratingSözcü Gazetesi