CHP-Yeni Parti candidate Parlak elected deputy mayor in Eyüpsultan
Cafer Parlak was elected in the fourth round with 19 votes, replacing Mayor Özmen who was detained as part of an investigation by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
Elected: The Eyüpsultan Municipal Council convened today and elected Cafer Parlak, the joint candidate of the CHP and Yeni Parti, as deputy mayor in the fourth round with 19 votes.
As part of an investigation by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office into Eyüpsultan Municipality, Mayor Mithat Bülent Özmen was detained on October 6. The charges against Özmen were bid rigging, bribery, and membership in a criminal organization. Following Özmen's detention, the council convened today by decision of the Istanbul Governor's Office to select a new deputy mayor.
In the election, Parlak faced Muhammed Çakır, the AKP's candidate for the Cumhur İttifakı (People's Alliance). The council has 23 members from the CHP-Yeni Parti group, 11 from the AKP, and 3 from the MHP. In the first two rounds, a two-thirds majority was required; in the third and fourth rounds, a simple majority was sufficient. Parlak cleared the threshold in the fourth round with 19 votes.
During the election, numerous police and TOMA vehicles were stationed around the municipal building; journalists were not allowed inside. Yeni Parti Istanbul Provincial Chair Özgür Çelik also monitored the session.
Eyüpsultan is a district the AKP lost to the CHP in 2019, with a CHP-backed candidate winning again in 2024. Özmen became the first mayor detained during this municipal term.
Sources — how we know this
- PrimaryBianet