Security cordon surrounds Üsküdar municipality hours before critical vote

Hours before Üsküdar’s deputy mayor election is due to be rerun, police have tightened security around the municipal building and prepared traffic restrictions on nearby roads.

The Istanbul Police Department said it would take traffic measures to protect public order and security. From 7 a.m., the section of Çavuşdere Avenue in front of the municipality, between Evliya Hoca Street and Hatmi and Hayrettin Çavuş streets, will close to vehicles. The road will remain shut until the council election process and voting are completed. Drivers are being directed to Dr. Fahri Atabey and Selami Ali Efendi avenues, as well as Evliya Hoca and Hatmi streets.

The rerun comes as political balances inside the municipal council have shifted. CHP council members have faced detentions and investigations, and four CHP members, Ahmet Başbaydar, Ayhan Aydın, Hüseyin Kazan and Tahsin Usta, resigned from the party two days before the vote and joined the AKP.

Sinem Dedetaş, elected Üsküdar mayor for the CHP in the March 31, 2024 local elections, was detained and suspended by the Interior Ministry. The council then met on Aug. 5 to elect a deputy mayor. CHP candidate Sibel Tan Çetinkaya won in the fourth round with 22 votes, after taking 26 in the first round, while AKP candidate Dündar Ziya Gültekin received 18 votes.

The result was challenged by the AKP on grounds of irregularities. Istanbul’s Second Administrative Court issued a stay, but the regional administrative court rejected the CHP’s appeal, confirming that the election would be held again on Sept. 5. After the rerun was ordered, authorities detained Amine Cansu Çelik, Mithat Özdemir and Ekrem Baki, while Nihat Doğan and council chair Ali Aral were summoned to give statements.