New acting mayor elected to replace suspended Tanju Özcan

The legal process was initiated to determine who would serve as acting mayor in place of Özcan, who was removed from office by the Ministry of Interior as a temporary measure.

In accordance with the provisions of Article 45 of the Municipal Law No. 5393, the Bolu Municipal Council convened to elect a new acting mayor. During the election held at 15:00, Nadi Okur was nominated as the candidate for the People's Alliance (Cumhur İttifakı), and Mehmet Tuna Özcan was nominated as the candidate for the CHP.

In the vote, Nadi Okur received 10 votes, while Mehmet Tuna Özcan received 19 votes. However, the election did not conclude in the first two rounds as the required two-thirds majority of the total number of council members was not reached. As a result of the third round of voting, Bolu Deputy Mayor Mehmet Tuna Özcan received 19 votes and became the new acting mayor. Newly elected Acting Mayor Tuna Özcan stated, "I thank our council members. We will continue to protect the trust left by our Mayor Tanju Özcan."

What happened?

In the investigation conducted by the Bolu Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on charges of "extortion" (a public official forcing someone to provide an unfair benefit by abusing their influence), 13 suspects, including Tanju Özcan, were detained in an operation carried out on February 28. Özcan and Deputy Mayor Süleyman Can, who were referred to the courthouse, were arrested, and BOLSEV Board Member Ali Sarıyıldız was sentenced to house arrest. Subsequently, the Ministry of Interior suspended Özcan from his duties as a temporary measure. Within the scope of the investigation, 1 suspect was placed under house arrest, while 10 suspects were released under judicial control conditions.

News Source: İHA