Following the suspension of Gaziosmanpaşa Mayor Hakan Bahçetepe amid a corruption probe, the municipal council has elected the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Eray Karadeniz as acting mayor in a decisive third-round vote.
The council convened under the leadership of First Deputy Chair Erdoğan Yıldırım Özçelik after Bahçetepe, detained as part of an investigation into the Aziz Ihsan Aktaş criminal network, was formally removed from office by the Interior Ministry. The AK Party nominated Karadeniz, the party’s current group deputy chair on the council, while the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) put forward Murat Topaloğlu as its candidate.
Neither candidate secured an absolute majority in the first two rounds. In the third and final round, Karadeniz was elected with 21 votes, defeating Topaloğlu, who received 16. Following the result, CHP council members left the hall in protest, chanting slogans and striking desks.
In his first remarks as acting mayor, Karadeniz emphasized his deep ties to the district: “Serving Gaziosmanpaşa, whose 16 neighborhoods I know intimately, is a profound responsibility and an immense honor,” he said. He pledged to fulfill his role with dedication, stating, “No one should doubt that I will live up to this responsibility in line with our belief that ‘those who serve earn honor.’”
Karadeniz also extended his condolences to the family of Manisa Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek, who died recently after a tragic electrical accident at his home.
The council meeting drew high-level observers, including AK Party Istanbul Provincial Chair Abdullah Özdemir and CHP Istanbul Chair Özgür Çelik. Security forces were deployed around the municipal building throughout the session.
Moreover, elections took place for the Avcılar and Büyükçekmece districts.
Born in Istanbul in 1986, Karadeniz holds degrees from Istanbul Commerce University’s Faculty of Law and Anadolu University’s Business Administration Department. He has held numerous leadership roles within AK Party’s youth branches, including as head of Gaziosmanpaşa’s youth wing between 2009 and 2018.
He also served as a political adviser in the 2019 local elections and was program director at the Gaziosmanpaşa Election Coordination Center in the 2023 general elections. In addition, he led several EU-funded youth initiatives.
Karadeniz now assumes interim leadership in a district at the center of one of Istanbul’s most high-profile corruption investigations.
In the first wave of 2025 operations against municipalities, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu and 105 others were detained on March 19 and remain incarcerated in pretrial detention. The CHP has nominated Imamoğlu as its candidate in presidential elections due in 2028, but whether he can run depends on the fate of numerous trials and probes.
