Sefa Yılmaz has been re-elected as the president of the İzmir Bar Association, securing 2,517 votes. Yılmaz, the candidate of the Contemporary Lawyers Group, defeated Banu Aşkın İnce from the İzmir Lawyers Movement, who garnered 2,027 votes. Yılmaz’s victory comes after a closely watched race, where he addressed the use of hate speech during the campaign, particularly against Kurdish slogans, saying, “İzmir lawyers will not tolerate hate speech. Our win is a rejection of such harmful rhetoric.”
In Gaziantep (Dîlok), Bülent Duran, a member of the Association of Lawyers for Freedom (ÖHD) and the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, has been elected as the new president of the Gaziantep Bar Association. Duran received 608 votes, narrowly beating Melikşah Korkmaz, who had 593 votes. The election saw a high turnout, with 2,102 valid votes counted, marking a close contest in which Duran promised to advocate for equality and justice.
Meanwhile, Sinan Özaraz was re-elected as the president of the Van (Wan) Bar Association at their 29th General Assembly. Özaraz, who will continue his tenure as bar president, highlighted the diverse makeup of the newly elected board, which includes two female lawyers and three members of the ÖHD, underscoring the bar’s commitment to inclusivity and gender equality.
