YENİ Party files criminal complaint over alleged threats during Üsküdar Deputy Mayor election

The YENİ Party Istanbul Provincial Presidency has filed a criminal complaint regarding allegations that the political preferences of certain municipal council members were altered through threats, pressure, or promises of benefits before and during the election process for the Deputy Mayor of Üsküdar Municipality.

In the application, it was alleged that Üsküdar Municipal Council member Ayhan Aydın stated during a phone conversation with another council member—in the presence of YENİ Party Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik and YENİ Party Istanbul MP Suat Özçağdaş—that he had been threatened with arrest by a prosecutor.

The petition stated that Aydın spoke with Özgür Çelik via another party member's phone and used the expression, "They threatened me with arrest; if I am arrested, who will take care of my disabled wife and child?" It was argued that the spouse of Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş, Barış Dedetaş, and several other party members witnessed the conversation in question.

INVESTIGATION REQUESTED TO BE EXPANDED

In its criminal complaint, the YENİ Party emphasized that the investigation, which it stated was initiated ex officio by the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, should not be limited solely to the allegation of "threats by a prosecutor" directed at Ayhan Aydın. The petition requested that the incident be investigated in connection with other municipal council members and all related parties.

The application requested an examination of the conditions under which Ayhan Aydın, as well as Ahmet Başbaydar, Hüseyin Kazan, Tahsin Usta, Tahsin Epli, Onur Bayav, and other relevant council members, changed their parties or political preferences during the voting. It was stated that it must be revealed whether these changes were made of their own free will or through threats, pressure, judicial processes, money, benefits, or other unlawful interference.

The petition also included the allegation that between the third and fourth rounds of the Üsküdar Deputy Mayor election held on August 5, 2026, Ahmet Başbaydar claimed he had been given promises by a ministry regarding a judicial process involving his son. Furthermore, it was requested that allegations be investigated regarding the owner of the workplace where Onur Bayav is employed being summoned by the prosecutor's office, and Bayav himself being invited to the prosecutor's office one day before the final election on September 8, 2026.

In the petition, the YENİ Party requested that communication, digital, camera, and financial evidence be collected if legal conditions are met, and that the council members who changed parties or voting preferences be questioned in detail. The application requested that the actions be evaluated in terms of relevant crimes, primarily the crime of preventing the exercise of political rights as regulated in Article 114 of the Turkish Penal Code.

The criminal complaint requested that if those responsible are identified, a criminal investigation be conducted against them and a public lawsuit be filed. The YENİ Party stated that the investigation should be continued in a manner that covers all individuals, actions, and relationships alleged to have influenced the political will in the Üsküdar Municipal Council.