Following the resignation of Adalar Deputy Mayor Medine Pamuk due to health issues, an electiton was held to select a new deputy mayor. (DHA Photo)
Istanbul’s Adalar district municipality is now led by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) after party candidate Kemal Türkyılmaz won a vote on Sept. 23 to become acting mayor.
Türkyılmaz won five votes in the third round, while the Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Aytül Ekşiyan received no votes after CHP and main opposition New Party council members declined to participate in the final round.
The vote followed the resignation of CHP’s acting mayor Medine Pamuk on Sept. 14, citing health problems. The Istanbul governor’s office had scheduled the initial vote for Sept. 21, but the election was postponed after CHP and New Party members did not participate, preventing the 12-member council from reaching a quorum.
Before the third round on Sept. 23, CHP and New Party members demanded that the vote be canceled, arguing that the procedure was irregular. A dispute broke out between the council members, after which the room where the vote was being held was cleared.
Under the rules governing acting mayor elections, a two-thirds majority is required in the first two rounds. If no candidate secures that threshold, a simple majority is required in the third round. If no candidate obtains a simple majority, a fourth round is held.
The AKP previously held only two of the 12 seats on the Adalar council, while the CHP held 10.
The balance shifted after several CHP council members became unable to participate in the vote following legal proceedings against the municipality’s leadership. Adalar Mayor Ali Ercan Akpolat and Deputy Mayor Fırat Durak were arrested on June 19 as part of an investigation into allegations including bribery, extortion, forgery of official documents, forming and managing a criminal organization and abuse of office.
CHP council member Mehmet Nuri Kaya is also in custody.
Council members Yavuz Çiftçioğlu and Nesimi Aday, who were subject to judicial-control measures, had been barred from participating in the vote after being suspended from their duties. Çiftçioğlu’s restriction was lifted before the final vote, allowing him to participate.
The CHP referred Çiftçioğlu, İsmail Onur Balbınar and Ahmet Tanay Garip to its disciplinary board seeking their expulsion after accusing them of voting for the AKP candidate.
Akpolat won the Adalar election in March 2024 with 55 percent of the vote. AKP candidate Uğur Sina Şen finished second with 22 percent.
