02.05.2026 16:01
A scuffle broke out before the election for the new administration of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye. Following the tension, Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Vahap Seçer was elected President of the Union of Municipalities of Türkiye with 446 votes.
The Assembly of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey (TBB) convened at a hotel in Ankara to determine the President, Assembly Presidency Council, Specialization Commission members, and Committee members. The meeting was opened by TBB Deputy President and Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer. During the session, Denizli Metropolitan Mayor Bülent Nuri Çavuşoğlu’s request to read a letter from the arrested Ekrem İmamoğlu sparked debates in the hall.
FIGHT BROKE OUT, FISTS FLEW IN THE AIR
Tensions escalated as Sakarya Metropolitan Mayor Yusuf Alemdar moved toward the podium. The argument grew as some mayors also stood up, turning into a fistfight. Shouts rose in the hall, and the meeting was suspended due to the scuffle, with the hall being evacuated.
As tensions subsided, voting resumed.
HEAD OF THE UNION OF MUNICIPALITIES OF TURKEY ANNOUNCED
Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer was elected President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey with 446 votes.
WHO IS VAHAP SEÇER?
Mersin Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer was born on October 5, 1963, in the Tarsus district of Mersin. He graduated from Çukurova University Faculty of Agriculture.
As a young entrepreneur, Vahap Seçer made investments in agricultural production, industry, and trade through a business he founded in 1987, serving as a board member and chairman in his founding companies. Seçer also holds memberships in chambers of industry and commerce representing the business world, and in the professional chamber as an agricultural engineer.
Seçer also took part in social projects as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Tarsus Güç Birliği Foundation, which he founded to help raise modern, secular, and patriotic youth.
Vahap Seçer served as a CHP Mersin deputy for the 23rd and 24th terms between 2007 and 2015. During his tenure, he served on the Agriculture and Village Affairs Commission and the Planning and Budget Commission, achieving successful work.
Developing projects with solutions to the problems of the city where he was born and lives, Vahap Seçer was elected Mersin Metropolitan Mayor in the March 31, 2019 Local Elections and continues his duties.
In the March 31, 2024 elections, with strong support from the people of Mersin, Vahap Seçer was elected to this position for a second term, receiving a record vote share, continuing his services.
Seçer, who assumed the role of Deputy President of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey on July 16, 2025, undertakes significant responsibilities in spreading work based on justice, equality, and public interest in local governments across Turkey.
Vahap Seçer is married and has two children; he speaks English.
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