Rıza Saka has won the presidential election held at the Istanbul Bar Association No. 2. According to unofficial results, Saka received 1022 votes, while Ali Kasım Tuna remained at 1016. The race concluded with a 6-vote difference between the top two candidates.
It was reported that the other candidate, Murat Güneş, received 51 votes in the election. Following the announcement of the results, the group supporting Rıza Saka was seen celebrating the victory in the hall.
Ali Kasım Tuna's candidacy had received support from ruling party circles prior to the election. AKP İstanbul Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir attended Tuna's candidacy introduction meeting on October 5, and former Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM) Mustafa Şentop had also declared his support for Tuna. Abdullah Adır was also included in Tuna's board of directors list.
Making a statement on his social media account after the election, Tuna announced that they would object to the results. Tuna stated that they have applied to the District Election Board, noting that while the margin between them is 6 votes, 31 votes were counted as invalid.
It should not be overlooked that while the vote difference between the first two candidates is only 6, 31 votes were counted as invalid. We have objections regarding various issues that could affect the election results, primarily our requests concerning invalid votes, ballot box procedures, and a recount of the votes.
Tuna argued that it is not correct to present the results as finalized before the objections are adjudicated.
The Istanbul Bar Association No. 2 was established following the multi-bar regulation that came into effect in 2020. The regulation paved the way for the establishment of new bar associations in provinces where the number of lawyers exceeds 5 thousand.
News Source: 12punto
