ISTANBUL — After repeated postponements and the passing of a controversial law on bar associations that prompted some lawyers to march from Istanbul to Ankara in protest last year, the influential Union of Turkish Bar Associations (TBB) held elections this weekend and ousted its president of eight years, Metin Feyzioglu.

In the latter part of his tenure, Feyzioglu came under increased criticism for seemingly accommodating the political agenda of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Feyzioglu notably backed a bill passed in July 2020 permitting the establishment of multiple bar associations in Turkish cities, which opponents said would weaken some of the few remaining institutions still critical of government policies following a broad crackdown on dissident groups sparked by a 2016 coup attempt in Turkey.

The bill proved highly divisive among lawyers and citizens. Among its leading critics was then-Ankara Bar Association Chair Erinc Sagkan, who Sunday won elections to lead the TBB in a potentially pivotal vote expected to bolster rule of law and the independence of the nation’s lawyers.