CHP leader Kılıçdaroğlu calls for resignation of top judge over İnce tweet

ISTANBUL

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has called for the resignation of Aysel Demirel, a member of the Council of State, who posted a tweet last week criticizing the CHP’s presidential candidate Muharrem İnce. 

“Are you a judge or the head of that party’s [the Justice and Development Party] women’s branch? This judge must resign from her post immediately,” Kılıçdaroğlu said at a meeting on June 12 with the representatives of small and medium-sized companies in Istanbul. 

Demirel was first appointed to the Supreme Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) in 2014 and later she became a member of the Council of State. 

“The president appoints judges to the country’s top courts. That is why we have the principle stating that the president must be impartial,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

“But she posted a tweet criticizing İnce. If she respects the judge’s profession, if she believes in the principle of impartiality, then she must resign. A militant of a political party cannot serve as a judge,” he added. 

In a tweet posted on June 10, Demirel criticized İnce’s alleged previous stance on the headscarf issue. 

“Yes, thank God. The headscarf is not an issue anymore despite your real intentions that you want to hide today. We have not forgotten and will not forget what the people, who have the same mentality as Muharrem İnce, have done to us,” she wrote.

In the Twitter post she shared captions allegedly quoting İnce’s remarks disapproving the wearing of headscarves in schools. The veracity of the quotes could not be confirmed.

Demirel later removed the controversial tweet.