Election marathon in the high judiciary: First-round results of the Court of Cassation presidency election announced
No candidate secured an absolute majority in the first round of the five-candidate election, which began today due to the expiration of Court of Cassation President Mehmet Akarca's 4-year term. The election will continue with a second round of voting.
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The 4-year term of Mehmet Akarca, who was elected President of the Court of Cassation on March 24, 2020, has expired.
In this context, a ballot box was set up at the Court of Cassation to determine the High Court's new president, who will serve for a 4-year term.
WHO ARE THE CANDIDATES FOR THE COURT OF CASSATION PRESIDENCY?
Candidates for the Court of Cassation presidency include incumbent Court of Cassation President Akarca, Civil General Assembly President Adem Albayrak, 3rd Criminal Chamber President Muhsin Şentürk, 3rd Civil Chamber President Ömer Kerkez, and 12th Civil Chamber President Ayhan Tuncal.
To be elected president, candidates must receive the votes of at least 175 of the 348 Court of Cassation members, which constitutes an absolute majority.
If none of the candidates can secure an absolute majority, the election will continue with a second round of voting.
If no result is obtained in the first three rounds, the election will be held between the two candidates who received the most votes in the third round. Those who received the same number of votes as the candidates participating in the fourth round will also be able to participate in the election.
If an absolute majority is not achieved in the fourth and fifth rounds of voting, the election will be repeated with those who re-apply for candidacy.
An absolute majority of the total number of members must be present for the elections.
NO RESULT IN THE FIRST ROUND
In the first round of the election, Court of Cassation President Akarca received 88 votes, Civil General Assembly President Adem Albayrak 50, 3rd Criminal Chamber President Muhsin Şentürk 70, 3rd Civil Chamber President Ömer Kerkez 71, and 12th Civil Chamber President Ayhan Tuncal 47 votes.
Since none of the candidates could receive at least 175 votes, which is the absolute majority of the 348 Court of Cassation members, the election will continue with a second round of voting.
If no result is obtained in the first three rounds, the election will be held between the two candidates who received the most votes in the third round. Those who received the same number of votes as the candidates participating in the fourth round will also be able to participate in the election.
If an absolute majority is not achieved in the fourth and fifth rounds of voting, the election will be repeated with those who re-apply for candidacy.
An absolute majority of the total number of members must be present for the elections.
KADİR ÖZKAYA ELECTED AS CONSTITUTIONAL COURT PRESIDENT
In the high judiciary, where the election marathon continues, an election was held for the President of the Constitutional Court on March 21.
Due to the fact that Constitutional Court President Zühtü Arslan's term was set to expire on April 20, Kadir Özkaya, who received 9 out of 15 votes in the election, became the new Constitutional Court President.
The other presidential candidate, Yusuf Şevki Hakyemez, received 6 votes. Özkaya will serve as president for 2 years due to his term limit.
It was noted that Özkaya, a graduate of the Department of Public Administration at Gazi University's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences, is not a law school graduate.