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Ibrahim Akın, the candidate of Türkiye’s ruling People’s Alliance, was elected as acting mayor of Istanbul’s Bayrampaşa district after receiving 19 of 37 votes in the district municipal council election on Sunday.
As part of an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office, Bayrampaşa’s now-former Mayor Hasan Mutlu was arrested and sent to prison on Sept. 13, accused of “extortion,” “bribery,” “qualified fraud” and “bid rigging.”
Following his suspension from office by the Ministry of Interior, an election was held on Sept. 21 at the Bayrampaşa municipal council. In the 4-round voting, the results ended in a tie, and the candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) was selected as acting mayor by drawing lots.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) candidate, Ibrahim Akın, filed a lawsuit with the administrative court, challenging the results and requesting the annulment of the election. The Istanbul 8th Administrative Court suspended the proceedings until the case was concluded. With this ruling, the Bayrampaşa acting mayoral election process was put on hold pending the court’s final decision.
In line with the municipal law, the Istanbul Governor’s Office announced that it would convene the Bayrampaşa district municipal council on Sunday, Oct. 26, to elect the acting mayor. After the decision, a new vote was held once again at the Bayrampaşa municipality.
In the new election, while the People’s Alliance kept the same candidate, the CHP nominated a new candidate, Recep Öztürk. After Sunday’s voting session began, CHP members claimed that ballot papers contained spelling errors in the candidate names. A brief dispute broke out between members before the session resumed.
AK Party Istanbul provincial head Abdullah Özdemir criticized the CHP for “attempting to manipulate the will of the council,” and calling the dispute “an unacceptable act of political obstruction.”
After three inconclusive rounds, Akın secured the majority in the fourth round with 19 of the 37 votes, officially becoming Bayrampaşa’s acting mayor.
Following the official announcement of the results, Akın said, “We have once again brought AK Party municipal governance back to Bayrampaşa, which was deprived of services. This cause has not ended and will never end. There is no stopping; we keep moving forward.”
