Who is Mehmet Akif Hamzaçebi? Why was Hamzaçebi summoned to testify? How old is he and where is he from?

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office has launched an investigation into allegations that 'votes were cast in exchange for money' during the Republican People's Party (CHP) convention held in 2023. In this context, former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and former CHP Group Deputy Chairman Mehmet Akif Hamzaçebi have been summoned to testify as witnesses. Following these developments, many people have begun searching for answers to questions such as who Mehmet Akif Hamzaçebi is, how old he is, and where he is from. Here are the details...

WHY WAS HAMZAÇEBİ SUMMONED TO TESTIFY?

A CHP member in Bursa went to the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office with allegations of irregularities at the convention. The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office issued a decision of lack of jurisdiction. The file was subsequently sent to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. The Chief Public Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation and summoned former CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and former CHP Group Deputy Chairman Akif Hamzaçebi to testify as 'witnesses'.

WHO IS MEHMET AKİF HAMZAÇEBİ?

He was born in 1953 in the Araklı district of Trabzon. He is the son of retired Lieutenant Colonel Halit Hamzaçebi. He graduated from Istanbul Bakırköy High School in 1970 and from the Faculty of Political Sciences, Department of Economics and Finance at Ankara University in 1974. He completed his master's degree in the Department of Finance at the Gazi University Institute of Social Sciences in the field of "Tax Integration".

He began his public service as a candidate civil servant at the General Directorate of Revenues, entered the Board of Inspectors on 09.10.1974, and became a Finance Inspector on 06.12.1977. He was sent to the U.S. for a 1-year internship during the 1983-1984 period. He served as Deputy Defterdar (Provincial Finance Director) at the Istanbul Defterdarlık (1986-1990). He held positions at the Ankara Defterdarlık (1990-1993), the General Directorate of National Real Estate (1993-1997), the Istanbul Defterdarlık (1997-1999), and the General Directorate of Revenues (1999-2002). During these duties, he served on the Boards of Directors of the Underwater Sports Federation, the Volleyball Federation, Gayrimenkul Ekspertiz ve Değerleme AŞ, and the Turkish Patent Institute.

He served as a Trabzon Deputy for the 22nd and 23rd terms, an Istanbul Deputy for the 24th, 25th, and 26th terms, and as a member of the Planning and Budget Committee between 2002-2010, and as the spokesperson for the CHP Group of the Planning and Budget Committee between 2003-2010.

He served as the Group Deputy Chairman of the Republican People's Party between 01.06.2010 and 24.06.2015. On November 25, 2015, he was elected as the Deputy Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He held this position until November 2017.

He was elected to the Party Assembly at the 36th Convention of the Republican People's Party held on February 3-4, 2018, and served as the Secretary General of the Republican People's Party between February 12, 2018, and February 7, 2019.

He currently continues his duties in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as a 27th Term Istanbul Deputy.