‘Think excludes members from appointment Azarkan’ | Inland

According to experts in association law, the general meeting of Denk on Saturday was in violation of the law. In de Volkskrant it is stated that the party has gone beyond its scope by only letting a selection of party members vote because of corona measures. The ratification of Azarkan as party leader and the election of the new party administration would therefore not be legally valid, say lawyers.

Only 94 Denk members were welcome at the members’ meeting on Saturday, while at least 144 members had registered. The interim board of the party, founded in 2015, relied on the tightened corona rules, which allowed a maximum of 100 visitors to the hall in Amsterdam. Excluded members could not vote digitally either. “That is absolutely not allowed,” says law professor Marjan Olfers to the newspaper.

According to the statutes of the party, the board can appoint a party leader if there are no other candidates. Members would then not have to vote on this. Azarkan was the only candidate for the top candidate. Metin Çelik, interim chairman of Denk until Saturday, calls the members’ votes that were nevertheless cast an “endorsement” of Azarkan’s party leader, but not necessarily for legal validity.

“Need breaks the law,” said Çelik. “I did not invent the tightened corona measures. We have obtained legal advice. It is possible under these circumstances. ”

Racism

According to Azarkan, Think is “more needed than ever,” he said in a speech. With the party he wants to fight against ‘institutional racism’, make the Netherlands ‘fairer and fairer’ and practice ‘value-driven politics’. He also wants to bring people back together, after “years of right-wing rhetoric” has divided society.

In addition, Denk must not only put themes on the political agenda, but also cooperate and co-manage, provided it does not come at the expense of ideals. Previously, the party regularly sought confrontation with other parties, including videos on social media in which MPs with a Turkish background recognized the Armenian genocide as such. This led to strong disapproval from the House, including by President Khadija Arib. Azarkan later said he regretted the films.

Successor to Kuzu

He succeeds Tunahan Kuzu as party leader and party leader. He said in March this year that he would stop as party leader because of “the impact” that leadership has on his personal life. Later, monthly magazine HP / De Tijd reported that Kuzu stepped down due to an affair with a former employee of the party. Selçuk Öztürk, chairman of Denk, is said to have blackmailed Kuzu with this.

It led to a fierce quarrel within Denk, in which Özturk tried to expel Azarkan, among other things. That failed and almost the entire party rallied behind Azarkan and Kuzu. Özturk gave up the presidency. Neither he nor Kuzu will return to the House of Representatives after the elections.

During his speech, Azarkan noted that there is still debate in the party. He called on members to leave them behind. According to him, the party must now move forward again.

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