Nurullah Ciftci was elected mayor of Hakkari in the local elections of March 30, 2014 with a total of 17,861 votes and with a score of 66.83%.

The former mayor was arrested on November 17, 2016 and is being held at Sincan Closed Prison in Ankara. He was sentenced to 15 years for "belonging to a terrorist organization"

He is also accused of "abuse of power" and "embezzlement".