Allegations of pressure from Özgür Çelik after Üsküdar election: 'They threatened me'

The deputy mayoral election at Üsküdar Municipality was held again. AKP candidate Dündar Ziya Gültekin was elected deputy mayor in the renewed vote.

The process had begun following the arrest of Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş. After the Ministry of Interior's decision to hold an election, the first vote was won by CHP candidate Sibel Tan Çetinkaya, but the court suspended the election following an objection by AKP's Gültekin.

The period following the court's decision sparked controversy due to council members switching from CHP to AKP and the arrest of some CHP members. Özgür Çelik of the YENİ Party argued in a statement after the election that what transpired would go down as a "black mark on the history of democracy."

ALLEGATIONS OF THREATS AND PRESSURE FROM ÇELİK

Çelik claimed that Üsküdar Municipal Council member Ayhan Aydın, who switched to the AKP, called them crying and said he had been threatened by a prosecutor. Çelik alleged that Aydın, citing his disabled son and wife on the phone, said, "They threatened me, I surrendered to them."

CHP's Çelik further claimed that some council members were pressured through their families or relatives, that promises were made regarding a relative of one member, and that there were allegations that the son of another member had been released from custody.

In his statement, Çelik also targeted Istanbul Governor Davut Gül. He argued that the Governor's Office had taken extensive security measures around the municipal building, that journalists were not allowed inside, and that the election time was set in a way that would provide an advantage to the AKP.

The CHP İstanbul Provincial Chair reacted to the process by saying, "The AK Party did not win the election in Üsküdar. The prosecutors at the Kartal Courthouse and Istanbul Governor Davut Gül won the election." There was no response from the AKP side regarding Çelik's allegations in the source text.

With the result of the renewed election, the position of deputy mayor at Üsküdar Municipality passed to AKP's Dündar Ziya Gültekin.