Ankara and Istanbul—big cities that it had ruled for many years. After an initial challenge, the votes were recounted in Istanbul, but even after the recount CHP candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu won the election. However, giving in to a high amount of pressure by the government, the Supreme Election Council decided that new elections should take place for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. A trustee was appointed to replace İmamoğlu, despite having had already received his mandate. The Press statement on stage of the history of law in Turkey has meant such Street, İstanbul for the Day great danger for lawyers. We were already caught up of lawyers. (Capshot from in a painful trajectory but now we have become the ‘’Shrinking Civic Space 2: primary target of the State of Emergency regime. In Right to Defence’’ video, by Fatih Pınar) our resistance against the obliteration of the right to defence that is restricted by the emergency decrees, we were threatened, beaten, expelled from trials, arrested, and moreover, we have suffered the collective assassination of Tahir Elçi.”107 49 bar associations made a joint statement claiming that the decision was unlawful.108 One of the strongest reactions to the decision came from the Istanbul Bar Association. It said, “It’s not the election but the decision to cancel it that is dubious.”109 Istanbul Bar Association President Mehmet Durakoğlu announced a six-point action plan for the renewed elections. The Bar Association, which had previously sent one lawyer to each polling station, announced that they would have one lawyer at each ballot box during the renewed election. In addition, the Cultural Centre of the Bar in Galata was allocated as the Istanbul Bar Association’s Base for Election Law.110 April 5th İstanbul, on İstiklal Another decision they took was to gather daily and surveil the front of the Istanbul Bar Association’s building on Istiklal Street. Gathering between 8:00 PM and 9:00PM every evening, the lawyers commenced their “Solidarity Watch for Democracy” (Demokrasi İçin Dayanışma Nöbetleri). The Watch was not only supported by lawyers but also by NGO representatives, intellectuals, artists and trade unionists. The Watch, which included small concerts in a festival-like atmosphere on İstiklal Street, was held until just before the reelection, which resulted in Ekrem İmamoğlu being elected a second time. 107 24 Ocak Tehlikedeki Avukatlar Günü (25.01.2019; Istanbul Bar Association): https://www.istanbulbarosu.org.tr/ HaberDetay.aspx?ID=14135&Desc=24-Ocak-Tehlikedeki-Avukatlar-G%C3%BCn%C3%BC THE DEMOCRACY WATCH 108 ‘A Black Mark in Our History of Democracy and Law’ (09.05.2019; Bianet): https://bianet.org/english/politics/208325a-black-mark-in-our-history-of-democracy-and-law During the March 2019 local elections, the ruling party AKP lost several of its municipalities. The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) took back nearly all of the municipalities in which trustees had previously been appointed by the government. But the greatest shock for the government was the loss of 48 A DEFENSELESS DEFENSE 109 Ibid. 110 Demokrasi Mücadelesi, İstanbul Barosu İçin Varlık nedenidir (07.05.2019; Istanbul Bar Association): https://www. istanbulbarosu.org.tr/HaberDetay.aspx?ID=14559&Desc=Demokrasi-M%C3%BCcadelesi,-%C4%B0stanbul-Barosu%C4%B0%C3%A7in-Varl%C4%B1k-nedenidir T H E D E M O C R A C Y WAT C H 49