ANKARA
The Turkish constitutional court on Tuesday elected its new chairman Zuhtu Arslan who won 11 out of 17 votes from members in the first round of elections.
Arslan will replace his predecessor Hasim Kilic whose tenure will end on March 13, when he will reach the age limit.
The other candidate vying for the court's chairmanship Serruh Kaleli obtained seven votes.
Arslan, a graduate of political science at Ankara University, obtained his doctorate in constitutional law and became a professor in 2007.
He has published Turkish and English books, articles on constitutional jurisdiction, human rights, the relation between freedom and security and political parties. When he was the dean of Police Academy in Ankara then President Abdullah Gul selected Arslan to be a member of the Constitutional Court on April 17, 2012.
The newly-elected chairman is married with four children.
Each chairman is elected for four years via secret ballot and with an absolute majority of votes of members inside the general assembly of the court.
The vote started at 10:00 a.m. Turkish local time (0800GMT) and lasted for half an hour.
Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeal elects new chairman
The separation of powers is necessary for Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeal, its newly elected chairman, Ismail Rustu Cirit, said Tuesday in a press conference after his election in the Assembly of Civil Chambers Hall.
Cirit said the supreme judicial body is composed of the Constitutional Court, Court of Appeals and the Council of State, the top administrative court.
"These courts are working in harmony with each other. We can cooperate in line with the separation of powers provided that our field is not infringed upon," he said.
He added that the duty of the judiciary is to facilitate justice and that "we will try to be worthy of the Turkish people's faith."
Turkey's Supreme Court elected its new chairman Ismail Rustu Cirit who won 280 votes from members in the first round of elections.
Cirit will replace his predecessor Ali Alkan whose tenure will end on March 13, when he will reach the age limit.
Four other candidates vied for the chairmanship of the court: Erdal Gokcen obtained 55 votes, Ali Suat Ertosun 98 votes, Mehmet Ekmekci 13 votes and Feyzi Altinok 36 votes.
Each chairman is elected for four years via secret ballot and with an absolute majority of votes of members inside the general assembly of the court.
