The annulment of a mayoral election by a pro-Kurdish party in favor of the ruling party in Van, eastern Turkey, sparked outrage even in Istanbul on Tuesday, AFP reported.

The elected representative of the People’s Democracy and Equality Party – DEM (formerly HDP), Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party, nevertheless won Sunday’s municipal elections with a large majority, according to his party.

“The Ministry of Justice is trying to confiscate the will of the residents of Vanya. This is a political coup,” DEM co-chair Tuncer Bakirhan reacted at a rally in front of the High Electoral Council in Ankara.

“We reject the decision of the provincial election commission in Van to transfer the position of mayor of the city to a candidate from the AKP,” the party said in a statement.

Abdullah Zeidan was elected on Sunday with 55.48 percent of the vote in this large Kurdish city known for its lake and located near the Iranian border, compared to 27.15 percent for his main rival from the president’s Justice and Development Party (AKP). Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was defeated in many large cities of the country.

The DEM, the third-largest political force in parliament, on Friday, less than 48 hours before the vote, condemned an “illegal” decision by the electoral commission that it said called into question Mr. Zeidan’s political rights.

The pro-Kurdish party claims that, despite this, its candidate “completed all the necessary legal procedures and received confirmation of his candidacy by the High Election Committee (YSK).”

According to images provided by the Turkish news agency DHA, hundreds of supporters gathered outside the party’s headquarters in Van to show their solidarity with the elected officials, throwing smoke bombs and setting up barricades.