Istanbul Municipality elects acting mayor

ISTANBUL

The Istanbul Municipality’s council on Wednesday elected Nuri Aslan, a member of the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), as acting mayor, with the election concluding in the third round.

Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was arrested last week on corruption charges. Following the court ruling on March 23, the Interior Ministry removed him from office.

Two candidates competed for the acting mayor position: The CHP nominated Nuri Aslan, while the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) put forward Zeynel Abidin Okul.

The council’s voting process lasted approximately four and a half hours. Since the required two-thirds majority was not reached in the first round, a second round was held.

In this round, Aslan received 177 votes, while Okul secured 125. As neither candidate met the majority threshold, the election proceeded to a third round.

In the final round, Aslan maintained his 177 votes, while Okul received 125, securing Aslan’s victory as Istanbul’s acting mayor.

The municipal council consists of 176 CHP members, 120 from AKP, six from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), two from the Great Unity Party (BBP) and one independent member.

Alongside İmamoğlu, Beylikdüzü Mayor Mehmet Murat Çalık was also arrested on corruption charges. In his absence, the district council elected Serkan Çebi as acting mayor.

İmamoğlu was initially detained on March 19 as part of two separate investigations — one related to corruption and another concerning terrorism. However, the court rejected the prosecutor’s request for his arrest on terrorism charges.

In cases where a mayor is arrested for terrorism-related offenses, the government typically appoints a trustee to run the municipality. A similar scenario unfolded in Şişli, where Mayor Resul Emrah Şahan was detained on terrorism charges.