Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what assessment the Government has made of the effect on security and democracy of the appointment of unelected governors who are members of the AKP in towns and cities in Turkey with predominant Kurdish populations.

​The decision to temporarily appoint state trustees in local municipalities is a decision for the Turkish Government. Nevertheless, we expect Turkey to undertake any legal processes against locally elected representatives fairly, transparently and with full respect for the rule of law. It is important for Turkish democracy, as it would be for any country, that the results of upcoming local elections accurately reflect the wishes of the Turkish people.