The 128th Ordinary General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association was held at the Haliç Congress Center. Voting at the 172 ballot boxes set up for the presidential election began at 09:00 and concluded at 17:00.
According to the unofficial results announced after the counting of the ballots, Prof. Dr. Ümit Kocasakal, the candidate of the Republican Power Union Alliance, was elected President of the Istanbul Bar Association.
Nine candidates competed for the presidency in the election. Candidates included İbrahim Özden Kaboğlu from the Lawyers for Change Group, Hasan Kılıç, the joint candidate of the Precedence Principle Contemporary Lawyers Group and the Precedence Principle CAG Rise Movement, Korkut Kanadoğlu from the Lawyers' Rights Group, and other candidates.
In a statement he made after casting his vote, Kocasakal said regarding the first four articles of the Constitution, "No one can touch the first 4 articles—I don't know about the positive or the negative. Whoever touches them will get their hands burned. The Istanbul Bar Association is the guardian of this founding architecture and the first 4 articles."
Other candidates competing for the presidency included Arife Gökkaya Dinç, Atakan Adem Selanik, Salih Uçar, Metin Üraçin, and independent candidate Gülbeyaz Karadeniz.
FIRST STATEMENT FROM ÜMİT KOCASAKAL AFTER THE ELECTION
Ümit Kocasakal, who won the Istanbul Bar Association election: "No one can touch the first four articles of our Constitution, I don't know about the positive or the negative"
Kocasakal made the following statement after winning the election:
"There are certain conditions for us to be able to practice our profession properly and in a manner consistent with our oath. One: The supporting columns of the 1923 Republic must be solid; our indivisible integrity, our unitary structure, our nation-state. Two: Our Republic and its law. Three: The rule of law and judicial independence. Four: Our professional independence and honor. Therefore, I am calling out from here: No one can touch the first four articles of our Constitution, I don't know about the positive or the negative."
News Source: 12punto
