Main electoral body rejects objection to Gergerlioğlu's parliament membership

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The Supreme Election Board (YSK) dismissed the objections raised by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) against the election of the Kocaeli parliamentary member Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu from the Green Left Party (YSP), under which the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) ran its members to circumvent a pending closure case.

According to unofficial May 14 election results, the YSP received 5.8% of the vote in Kocaeli, resulting in a seat for Gergerlioğlu.

AKP lawyer Emre Arık opposed the YSP member's eligibility for election, citing his 2-year, 6-month prison sentence. However, Arık ignored the Constitutional Court's (AYM) decision in 2021 on the "violation of rights" regarding the same sentence.

Gergerlioğlu criticized AKP's attempted objections and expressed, "Despite having my parliamentary membership revoked and being sent to prison, I emerged victorious in re-election. However, they remain unsatisfied! Once again, they are trying to undermine the will of the people. Through baseless objections and manipulative games at the YSK, they attempt to hinder the will of the Kocaeli people, who they couldn't defeat in the elections."

Violation of rights

On February 21, 2018, just a couple of months after becoming an MP for the HDP, Gergerlioğlu was convicted for "propagandizing for a terrorist organization" because of a social media post in 2016. He was stripped of his MP status and arrested afterward. The 16th Penal Chamber of the Court of Cassation later upheld the judgment on February 19, 2021.

The human rights advocate, who tried to run as a parliamentary candidate for the AKP in the 2011 general election, condemned the ruling by the Court of Cassation, stating that the verdict was political, and made an application to the AYM.

In 2021, the AYM reviewed Gergerlioğlu's application and ruled that his rights to be elected, engage in political activities, and personal liberty and security were violated. (HA/WM)