Top appeals court elects new head

ANKARA

The members of the Court of Appeals have elected Ömer Kerkez as their new president, breaking a long-standing deadlock in the 37th round of voting.

Since the end of March, candidates had been unable to secure a majority vote in the election following the conclusion of former president Mehmet Akarca's four-year term.

On May 14, in the 37th round of voting, Kerkez emerged victorious with 193 votes out of 348 members, whereas Akarca garnered the support of 103 members.

The turnout for the election was 324, with eight blank votes and 20 deemed invalid, local media said.

Another candidate, Muhsin Şentürk, had withdrawn from the race last week and was selected as a candidate for the chief public prosecutor elections in the same court.

Following the election, Justice Minister Tunç took to social media to congratulate the newly elected president, who is poised to serve a four-year term.

Born in the southern province of Hatay in 1966, Kerkez completed his primary, secondary and high school education in Antakya before enrolling in Ankara University’s Law Faculty. Starting his career as a candidate judge/prosecutor in Hatay, Kerkez held successive positions as public prosecutor in several regions and examiner judge at the Justice Ministry. He also held several senior roles within the Council of Judges and Prosecutors.

On July 5, 2017, Kerkez was appointed as a member of the Court of Appeals, and on February 14, 2023, he was elected as president of the 3rd Civil Chamber of the court.

The Court of Appeals also nominated five candidates for its new chief public prosecution. The five members who received the highest number of votes in the election will be considered candidates for the role. Subsequently, the names of the candidates will be submitted in order of rank to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Erdoğan, without regard to the ranking or number of votes received, will select one of the candidates as the chief public prosecutor within 15 days. The newly appointed chief prosecutor will serve a four-year term unless they retire due to the age limit.