Gözde AKBEN
Comment on Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu’s decision to initiate legal proceedings, which he announced while appearing on the Günaydın Ada program after the UBP Party Council decided to revoke his membership, came from Aygün Doratlı, a UBP Party Council member and lawyer, who joined the Öğlen Ajansı program hosted by Cem Kar by phone. Doratlı said that the right to interpret the bylaws belonged to the Party Council, but that no citizen could be prevented from seeking legal recourse.
Doratlı said: “The law is open to everyone under the Constitution. No one can be prevented in any way from seeking legal recourse. This is also Mr. Tahsin’s most natural right. I don’t think Mr. Tahsin has been treated unfairly because, as I recall, the party could have taken action against him under several articles. However, it chose to proceed under Article 7(e) of the bylaws. This matter can be debated before a court. If Mr. Tahsin takes it to court, it will certainly be debated there. Under the Constitution, no one can be prevented from seeking legal recourse, but I think Mr. Tahsin’s activities within the party today are open to debate. In fact, he could also have been referred to the Disciplinary Board, but for now the party has not chosen that course. It may yet do so; I don’t know. The bylaws offer more than one option. The party can use whichever one it chooses. The Party Council, which is the authorized body here, made this decision. I think we should respect that as well. When Mr. Tahsin was a member of the UBP, he himself said at the time that these bylaws were not good and called for changes to them. I don’t think there is any need for him to damage the party so much or make it seem as though everything about the party is terrible. I say this as a Party Council member, too. As a lawyer, I think it is right for Mr. Tahsin to assert his rights within the framework of the law. Whether he succeeds is another matter, but I believe we should all respect the Party Council’s decision,” he said.