Election crisis at the YSK: Candidates fail to secure a majority

At the Supreme Election Council (YSK), despite the terms of President Ahmet Yener and members Orhan Usta and Mahmut Akgün having expired, the election of three new members to be determined from the Court of Cassation quota has yet to be completed. Although the number of candidates has dropped to 9 in the voting sessions held periodically since January 19, none have been able to secure 170 votes, which is the absolute majority of the 337 members in the Court of Cassation.

The candidates participating in the election at the Court of Cassation are İhsan Kamil Akçadırcı, Mehmet Aksu, Mehmet Arı, Nurullah Bodur, Salim Çevik, Mustafa Çorumlu, Mustafa Erol, Cengiz Turhan, and Mustafa Yapıcı. In previous weeks, the number of candidates had decreased even further.

The process, which was paused for the Ramadan Feast, is planned to resume this week. Until the election is completed and the new YSK members are determined, the current members will continue to serve on the council.

Meanwhile, the elections held at the Council of State to appoint new names to replace the YSK members whose terms have expired have been completed. Hamdi Şenler, a member of the Council of State Administrative Litigation Chambers, Yunus Emre Sılay, a member of the 10th Chamber of the Council of State, and Nedret Engin, a member of the 4th Chamber of the Council of State, were elected as YSK members through the voting process.

OLD AND NEW MEMBERS SERVING TOGETHER

Following the determination of the three new members from the Court of Cassation quota, all new members will take their oaths and begin their duties. Subsequently, a secret ballot will be held for the YSK Presidency and Vice Presidency. In this critical vote, the candidate who receives the most votes will become the new president, and newly elected members will also be eligible to run for the presidency.

Supreme Election Council members serve for a term of 6 years in accordance with the relevant law. Members whose terms have expired are eligible to run for re-election. To determine YSK members, elections are held every three years in the second half of January at the Court of Cassation and the Council of State, and the members' service period begins at the end of that month, regardless of the date they were elected.

The deadlock that emerged at the Court of Cassation this year is delaying the determination of the council's final composition, while the continued service of current members until new ones are determined remains a legal necessity.