Top appeals court deadlocked in election for new head

ANKARA

The Court of Appeals found itself in a deadlock on March 26 as five rounds of voting have failed to produce a clear winner in the critical election to determine its new head.

The decision to postpone the election came after a two-day voting process, where neither of the five candidates managed to secure an absolute majority.

The urgency to elect a new head arose from the expiration of the four-year term of the current head, Mehmet Akarca, who assumed office on March 24, 2020. Five candidates, including Akarca, vied for the position, with 348 members of the top appeals court participating in the voting process.

In the latest round of voting, Akarca secured 105 votes, while Ömer Kerkez, head of a civil chamber within the high court, received 127 votes and Muhsin Şentürk, head of a criminal chamber, garnered 96 votes.

As a result, the election has been deferred to the sixth round of voting, scheduled for March 27. However, candidates must reapply, and new candidates can also join the race for the position.

Last week witnessed a changing of the guard in the Constitutional Court, with Kadir Özkaya assuming the role of the new head, succeeding Zühtü Arslan, whose term of office expired.

Özkaya's appointment was solidified following a general assembly vote, where he garnered nine out of 15 members' support, defeating his opponent Yusuf Şevki Hakyemez, who received six votes.

Born in 1963 in Mersin's Tarsus district, Özkaya is a graduate of Gazi University's faculty of economics and administrative sciences. His career in the judiciary commenced in 1993 when he was appointed as an investigative judge at the Council of State.

He later served as a rapporteur of the Constitutional Court from 2005 onwards. In 2014, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan appointed him as a member of the top court.

Meanwhile, the term of office for the current president of the Council of State, Zeki Yiğit, is also set to expire on May 7. According to legislation, the election process for the high court will commence on April 23.

All 113 members of the Council of State are eligible to become candidates. To secure the position, a candidate must obtain an absolute majority vote from the members.