Rally against change in municipal administration in Üsküdar: Özgür Özel to attend
A rally will be held at İskele Square on September 12 for Üsküdar, where the administration changed hands following the process that began with the arrest of Sinem Dedetaş.
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The process that began with the arrest and suspension of elected Mayor Sinem Dedetaş at the Üsküdar Municipality, and resulted in the administration passing to the AKP following the renewal of the deputy mayoral election, will be protested with a rally.
The gathering, announced by the YENİ Party with the slogan "The Decision Belongs to the People, Üsküdar Belongs to the People," will take place on September 12 at 19:00 at Üsküdar İskele Square. It has been announced that Chairman Özgür Özel will also attend the rally.
YENİ Party Istanbul Provincial Chairman Özgür Çelik stated in his call for the rally, "Under the leadership of our Chairman Özgür Özel, we are meeting to defend the will of the people of Üsküdar, our democracy, and our Republic." Çelik concluded his call with the words, "The coup plotters will lose, the people will win."
HOW DID THE DEPUTY MAYORAL ELECTION CHANGE?
The process in Üsküdar began with the arrest of Mayor Sinem Dedetaş on July 31 and her suspension from office by the Ministry of Interior. In the election held on August 5 to determine a deputy mayor to replace Dedetaş, the opposition candidate Sibel Tan Çetinkaya was elected deputy mayor in the fourth round with 22 votes. The AKP candidate, Dündar Ziya Gültekin, remained at 18 votes.
Upon Gültekin's objection, the Istanbul 2nd Administrative Court issued a stay of execution regarding the election. This decision paved the way for the renewal of the deputy mayoral election.
Before the renewal election, CHP municipal council members Ahmet Başbaydar, Ayhan Aydın, Hüseyin Kazan, and Tahsin Usta resigned from their party and joined the AKP. With the defection of the four members, the balance in the municipal council shifted in favor of the AKP and MHP.
In the renewed election on September 8, the AKP-MHP candidate Dündar Ziya Gültekin received 23 votes in the fourth round. Sibel Tan Çetinkaya remained at 19 votes. Thus, the administration of the Üsküdar Municipality, which the opposition had won in the 2024 local elections, passed to the AKP through the deputy mayoral election.