Yılmaz Tunç breaks silence on CHP Istanbul congress! Responds to Özgür Özel

Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç made evaluations to TRT Haber regarding the cancellation of the CHP Istanbul Provincial Congress. Tunç stated that the judicial process is ongoing and that such decisions will be made by the courts.

Tunç said, "The process was initiated upon the application of CHP delegates. The appeal process is open, and the process is ongoing." He also expressed that the accusations made by CHP members against the judiciary are not correct.

Describing the statements of CHP leader Özgür Özel as "unfortunate," Tunç remarked, "Complying with a judicial decision is a requirement of a state of law."

Yılmaz Tunç's statement is as follows:

'(Regarding the latest developments in the CHP) As a politician, none of us would want our political parties to face such a situation. We want everything to be conducted according to the law, the constitution, and the Law on Political Parties. This is our wish for all parties. Of course, there is an ongoing judicial process. The case is not over yet. There are criminal and civil cases ongoing in Ankara regarding the general headquarters congress, and in Istanbul, there is both a criminal case where the indictment has been submitted to the court and accepted, and a civil case that the public learned about through the injunction decisions announced yesterday. Therefore, it is not possible for us to express an opinion for or against the ongoing judicial processes.

The current situation is already being evaluated by commentators. The decision rendered is an injunction. This is a decision made upon the application of a Republican People's Party delegate, who is both a provincial delegate and a congress delegate, and it is an ongoing judicial process. When we look at the justification for the decision, there is an injunction issued by the court on the grounds that the investigation ongoing in Ankara and the investigation ongoing in Istanbul, as well as allegations regarding the provision of material benefits at the congress and the influencing of delegates' will, constitute the condition of prima facie evidence.

In addition to the cases ongoing in Istanbul, as you know, it had started in Ankara first. The former Mayor of Hatay Metropolitan Municipality, a CHP delegate, had filed an application. They had both filed a criminal complaint and opened cancellation cases regarding the congress in the civil court of first instance. They are proceeding on one hand; a hearing date had been set for September 15. On one hand, there is a criminal investigation and criminal cases, and on the other, there are cases filed in the Civil Court of First Instance with reference to the Law on Political Parties and the Law on Associations.

Of course, both cases are at a level where they can affect each other. Because the decision announced yesterday regarding the Istanbul Provincial Congress, the case is of course still ongoing. Here, it is certainly the judicial authority that will make the assessment regarding who is right and who is wrong concerning the merits of the case. Ultimately, the court will make the decision, and this court decision will be subject to objection, appeal, and cassation. These processes are currently ongoing.

In the decision rendered by the Istanbul 45th Civil Court of First Instance yesterday, it was decided to remove the provincial administration elected at the 38th Istanbul Provincial Congress, the members of the provincial executive board, and the members of the provincial disciplinary board from office, to remove them from office as a precaution, and to stop the ongoing election processes regarding the 39th congress in terms of Istanbul, only in terms of Istanbul. Because, as you know, a decision was made by the CHP Headquarters regarding the 39th congress and delegate elections are currently ongoing. If there is a legal defect, then the court is of the opinion that these delegate elections should be postponed. Therefore, there is an injunction decision in that respect.

However, there are also requests that the court rejected. Specifically, the cancellation of all decisions taken at the congress was requested by the plaintiff CHP provincial delegate and congress delegate. It was decided to reject the request for the cancellation of all of these. Of course, this is a decision open to objection. Regarding the accepted requests, an objection can be made to the same court. Regarding the rejected requests, the applicant can apply for an appeal. The process is ongoing. Regarding this process, of course, we all have to comply with and respect the judicial processes and the decisions that the courts will make. Because there is an investigation and case process being carried out by the judiciary, and those who initiated these are again the delegates and administrators within the Republican People's Party. Therefore, according to the Law on Political Parties, if there is an unlawful practice or an action contrary to the Law on Political Parties in congress processes, a political party delegate should certainly be able to seek their rights. This is a requirement of democracy and the rule of law.'

News Source: 12punto