24.10.2026 22:10
At the 128th Ordinary General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association, where tensions escalated into fistfights, interesting moments also occurred. One of the presidential candidates, Lawyer Gülbeyaz Karadeniz, took the podium and sang a folk song. Karadeniz's performance in the general assembly hall became one of the most striking moments of the day ahead of the presidential election.
The 128th Ordinary General Assembly of the Istanbul Bar Association, held at the Haliç Congress Center, witnessed tense moments ahead of the presidential election. At the general assembly, where arguments between groups of lawyers turned into a fight, the moments when one of the presidential candidates sang a folk song from the podium also drew attention.
PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE SANG A FOLK SONG FROM THE PODIUM
Lawyer Gülbeyaz Karadeniz, one of nine candidates competing for the bar presidency, took the podium at the general assembly and sang a folk song. Karadeniz's performance in the general assembly hall became one of the moments that marked the day at the general assembly after the tension experienced before the election.
SLOGAN DUEL TURNED INTO A FISTFIGHT
Tension erupted in the hall after Lawyer Arife Gökkaya Dinç, the candidate of the Independent Lawyers Group, completed her speech. After Dinç's speech, a group of lawyers who unfurled an LGBT+ flag chanted 'In spite of hatred, long live life.' Another group of lawyers reacting to this responded with chants of 'Down with the PKK.' The verbal clash between the groups escalated and quickly turned into a fistfight. Following the scuffle, the assembly board suspended the general assembly for 15 minutes. After the parties calmed down, the assembly continued from where it left off with candidate speeches.
68,220 LAWYERS WILL GO TO THE POLLS
In the election where the new president of the Istanbul Bar Association will be determined, nine candidates will compete. The election, in which a total of 68,220 lawyers are eligible to vote, will be held on Sunday, October 25.