Butlan CHP spokesman Müslim Sarı: “We declare this an election-targeted intervention”

Müslim Sarı, spokesman for the disputed CHP administration, says the detention of three Üsküdar municipal council members just before a repeat deputy mayoral election cannot be treated as a coincidence. “We declare this an election-targeted intervention,” he said at a news conference at the CHP’s Üsküdar district office.

The election follows a legal dispute over an earlier vote. Sarı said the CHP candidate won in the fourth round last month, but the result was later suspended and annulled after authorities concluded that invalid ballots could have affected the outcome. A new vote is scheduled for Saturday.

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We declare this an election-targeted intervention.

Sarı said the recent detentions would directly affect that vote. Three of the CHP’s remaining 23 council members are in custody and therefore cannot participate. Two of those members also sit on the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Council. Sarı argued that the timing of the election, together with the end of the members’ detention periods on Saturday, strengthened the impression that the operation was intended to keep them from voting.

He also attacked CHP council members who moved to the AKP, describing the transfers as “political pickpocketing.” Sarı questioned whether the members had changed their political views or had faced threats or offers of personal benefit. He said the party needed to examine how it selected its mayors and council members, noting that more than 30 CHP mayors had joined the AKP less than two and a half years after the elections. The CHP, he added, would cooperate with the Yeni Party to prevent Istanbul’s administration from passing to the ruling side.

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Political pickpocketing