This photo shows lawyers voting in the election for the new president of the Istanbul Bar Association. (DHA Photo)
Lawyers at the Istanbul Bar Association, one of the world’s largest bar associations, cast their ballots on Oct. 25 to elect a new president, with Ümit Kocasakal securing the highest number of votes.
Nine candidates contested the presidency of the association, which has around 70,000 registered lawyers.
Kocasakal, the candidate of the Republican Power Union group, emerged as the winner after securing the highest number of votes across 126 ballot boxes, becoming the new president of the Istanbul Bar Association.
Kocasakal and İbrahim Kaboğlu, the incumbent president and candidate of the Lawyers for Change group, were the two leading contenders, receiving the highest number of votes at many polling stations.
According to results, Kocasakal secured 34 percent of the vote, while Kaboğlu received 23.5 percent.
Kocasakal previously served as president of the Istanbul Bar Association from 2010 to 2016.
He formally entered politics by joining the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in 2015, subsequently becoming a prominent figure within the party.
In 2018, Kocasakal announced at a press conference that he intended to run for the CHP leadership against then-chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu at the party’s convention. However, he failed to secure the
required number of delegate signatures to formally enter the race. He was expelled from the party in 2020.
The first day of the two-day general assembly had focused on activity reports and the bar association’s work. Heated exchanges during the opening day occasionally escalated into physical altercations.
A dispute involving members of the Lawyers for Change, Nationalist Lawyers and Independent Lawyers groups eventually descended into a brief physical confrontation.
After Independent Lawyers Group candidate Arife Gökkaya Dinç delivered her speech and stepped down from the podium, a pro-LGBT flag was unfurled inside the hall. A group of attendees reacted by chanting slogans and physically confronting those who had raised the flag. The session was suspended for 15 minutes.
“The Istanbul Bar Association is back,” said the newly elected President Kocasakal in his victory speech.
