Bar Association Elections 2026: One Vote Decides Dersim as Ankara and Diyarbakır Oust Incumbents
Voters across Turkey replaced incumbent bar association presidents in Ankara and Diyarbakır while a single ballot decided the race in Dersim, with Istanbul's second bar association contest also going to a recount challenge.
Bar association elections across Turkey for the 2026–2028 term have produced a series of razor-thin margins and leadership changes, with Ankara and Diyarbakır both voting out their sitting presidents and one race in Dersim coming down to a single vote [261597].
In Diyarbakır, lawyer Sertaç Buluttekin defeated incumbent president Abdulkadir Güleç by a margin of 19 votes to take the top post [260457]. In Ankara, Elçin Özge Şimşek Çağlayan won the presidency of the Ankara Bar Association as the candidate of the Democratic Left Lawyers Group [260454].
The closest result came in Dersim, where the race was decided by just one vote [261597]. In many other provinces, incumbent presidents held onto their seats [261597].
A separate contest in Istanbul remained disputed. Rıza Saka won the presidency of the Istanbul 2nd Bar Association by only six votes, defeating Ali Kasım Tuna. Tuna, who was backed by figures from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), objected to the result after 31 ballots were declared invalid and applied to the District Election Board to challenge the outcome [260456].