YENİ Party lawmaker alleges Üsküdar election was rigged to help AKP win

The Üsküdar municipal council will meet on Sept. 5 to elect a deputy mayor after an Istanbul administrative court rejected an appeal against a decision suspending the previous election process. The Istanbul Governor’s Office announced the date after the ruling.

The vote comes amid a wider legal case involving Üsküdar Mayor Sinem Dedetaş. Dedetaş has been arrested in an investigation opened on allegations of membership in a criminal organization. Her deputies, Amine Cansu Çelik and Mithat Özdemir, were also detained to give statements.

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There is only one meaning: Üsküdar Municipality, which the AKP lost after 30 years, is being seized through cooperation between the judiciary and politics.

YENİ Party Aydın lawmaker Süleyman Bülbül accused the authorities of overturning an earlier result. He said Sibel Tan Çetinkaya had been elected deputy mayor in the Aug. 5 council vote, after ballot papers were displayed and counted one by one. According to Bülbül, the AKP candidate failed to win despite pressure and threats.

Bülbül said two council members later resigned, four were summoned to give statements and two were detained for four days. He pointed to the timing of the new vote, which is scheduled while the detentions are still continuing, and described the process as an effort to take back a municipality the AKP lost after 30 years. “There is only one meaning: Üsküdar Municipality, which the AKP lost after 30 years, is being seized through cooperation between the judiciary and politics,” he wrote. “All precautions are being taken in advance so that the AKP can win the election.”

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All precautions are being taken in advance so that the AKP can win the election.