Dündar Ziya Gültekin, acting mayor of Üsküdar, a central district on the Asian shore of Istanbul, died on 15 October following a serious road accident in the province of Düzce, in north-western Turkey, in which four other people were injured.
Gültekin, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), was travelling along the Anatolia Motorway near Düzce when the car in which he was travelling collided with another vehicle that was also heading towards Ankara. The accident took place in the Sarıçökek area, in the district of Kaynaşlı, according to the Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet.
Doctors were unable to save the mayor’s life
After the emergency services were alerted, medical and police teams rushed to the scene, and Gültekin and the other four injured people were taken to nearby hospitals. The mayor was admitted to a private hospital, where, however, he eventually died despite the doctors’ efforts.
Hasan Şengüloğlu, chairman of the AKP delegation in Düzce, stated at a press conference that Gültekin’s body showed no visible injuries or bruises related to the accident; therefore, he explained, the hypothesis being considered was that he may have suffered a heart attack triggered by the shock of the crash itself.
Şengüloğlu noted that two doctors who witnessed the accident remained at the scene and administered first aid. In total, the efforts of the medical teams and hospital doctors lasted for approximately an hour and a half, but they were unable to save his life.
The mayor had only been in office for a month
Gültekin’s death comes just over a month after his election as acting mayor of Üsküdar on 8 September, when his party wrested control of the town hall of this important Istanbul district from the opposition.
The Üsküdar municipal council elected Gültekin, the AKP candidate, to fill the post following the arrest, on 31 August, of the district’s mayor, Sinem Dedetaş, in the wake of an investigation launched by the public prosecutor’s office into alleged irregularities relating to corruption.
Subsequently, in the vote held on 8 September in Istanbul, Gültekin received not only the votes of the AKP but also the backing of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and his candidacy for mayor of Üsküdar was successful in the fourth round of voting with 23 votes in favour, compared with the 19 obtained by the candidate from the Republican People’s Party (CHP).
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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