CHP Spokesperson Müslim Sarı announced in a statement regarding the election for the Deputy Mayor of Üsküdar that the CHP and the New Party will compete with separate candidates. Pointing to the seat distribution in the Üsküdar Municipal Council, Sarı stated that the CHP has 9 council members, the New Party has 9, and the AK Party has 23.
The new election process in Üsküdar began following the death of Deputy Mayor Dündar Ziya Gültekin in a traffic accident. Gültekin was injured in an accident that occurred in the Sarıçökek area of the Kaynaşlı district on the Anatolian Motorway in Düzce while he was traveling to Ankara to attend the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye elections. Despite approximately 1.5 hours of intervention by doctors, Gültekin could not be saved after being taken to the hospital.
COUNCIL TO CONVENE ON OCTOBER 20
The Istanbul Governor's Office announced that the Üsküdar Municipal Council has been called to a meeting to determine a new deputy mayor following the death of Gültekin after the traffic accident on October 15. According to the Governor's Office statement, the council will convene on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, at 10:00.
Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş had been suspended from her duties by the Ministry of Interior on August 1 following her arrest as part of an investigation conducted by the Istanbul Anatolian Chief Public Prosecutor's Office. As a result of the election held in the Municipal Council, Dündar Ziya Gültekin was elected deputy mayor on September 8.
With Sarı's statement, it is considered that the deputy mayoral election in Üsküdar will be closely watched politically due to the arithmetic in the council and the parties' decision to field separate candidates.
News Source: 12punto
