A woman wearing the headscarf was assaulted by another woman, who was also there to cast her vote and appeared to be a supporter of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu, in the Ataköy district of Istanbul.

Fatma Şeyma Ağaca, a polling clerk representing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), was insulted by a citizen, Ö.A., who came to cast her vote. It is reported that Ö.A. told Ağaca to take her headscarf off. Ağaca filed an official complaint against Ö.A. at the police station.

In Ağaca's complaint file, it was stated that Ağaca was assigned by her party as a polling clerk at the Gazi Middle School in Ataköy. Ağaca warned the CHP representatives working at the ballot boxes not to use brochures including propaganda for the CHP because it is forbidden for officials to distribute political propaganda in the polling stations. While Ağaca and the CHP representatives were discussing the issue, a citizen named Ö.A., who came to cast her vote, insulted Ağaca and told her to take her headscarf off, saying it is also a political symbol. When Ağaca said she would file an official complaint, Ö.A. started to run away. However, Ö.A. was caught by the police following Ağaca's complaint.

Speaking to Anadolu Agency (AA), Ağaca said: "We know the historical background behind this insult. We know February 28. This brought us back to those days. We exhibited our reaction."

The video footage of the dialogue between Ağaca and Ö.A was shared on social media and drew the reaction of many social media users.The coup on Feb. 28, 1997 stands out among several other coups in the short history of the Turkish Republic in terms of how it unfolded. Nevertheless, it was as hurtful as the others for its impact on the public, especially the conservative segments of society. Unlike other coups, including the first one in 1960, the so-called "postmodern" coup did not involve a violent takeover of power and on Feb. 28, 1997, tanks were not rolling out on the streets like previous coups. It was the day when a military junta issued an ultimatum to the country's coalition government, which collapsed a few months after the ultimatum.