The YENİ Party released a video regarding the deputy mayor election held at the Eyüpsultan Municipality and made assessments about what happened on election day. In the election held following the arrest and suspension of Mayor Mithat Bülent Özmen, Cafer Parlak, the candidate of the CHP and the YENİ Party, was elected as the Deputy Mayor of Eyüpsultan.
In the election, the AKP candidate was announced as Muhammet Çakır, and the CHP and YENİ Party candidate as Cafer Parlak. In the first round, where 37 council members cast their votes, Parlak received 21 votes and Çakır received 15, while 1 vote was declared invalid. In the second round, Parlak received 21 votes and Çakır received 16. In the third round, both candidates remained at 18 votes each, and 1 vote was declared invalid. In the fourth round, Cafer Parlak, who received 19 votes, was elected deputy mayor.
In the video shared by the YENİ Party, it was seen that warnings were given to council members before the voting regarding how to fill out the ballot paper. The video conveyed information that the ballot paper must be legible, filled out in accordance with spelling rules, and must not contain any markings or stains.
In the post, it was stated that during the 3rd round of voting, AKP Council Member Zihni Çamcı said, “I want a new ballot paper,” and in response, he was told that a new ballot paper could not be provided. The video stated that even if the vote in question were to be considered valid, the election would still go to the 4th round, and that 20 votes were required for an absolute majority.
The video reported that in the 4th round, AKP Council Member Ceren Çolak also requested a new ballot paper but received the response, “We said it before. It was the same for the others.” Additionally, the words of MHP Council Member Necdet Ekinci following the election result, “We will object, the election is still ours. Let it stay with you for 1 week,” were shared.
AKP İstanbul Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir, in a previous statement, had argued that in the 3rd round, 5 CHP council members had voted for the People's Alliance candidate in addition to the 14 People's Alliance council members; he announced that they would object to the election result, claiming that a vote belonging to the AKP that should have been valid was declared invalid.
The YENİ Party, in the video it released, opposed the allegations regarding the election process, using the expression, “They are trying to usurp the election they lost at the ballot box.”
News Source: 12punto
