The Platform for Equality for Women (EŞİK) declared in their statement on the local elections in Turkey, that the myth claiming “voters do not vote for women” has been debunked. They emphasized their commitment to advocating for all the demands for egalitarian, purple, green and a social municipalism.
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The Platform for Equality for Women (EŞİK) stated in their announcement regarding the March 31 local elections in Turkey that the ruling bloc failed to earn the trust of the public, emphasizing the need for an early election out of respect for democracy and the people’s will.
The statement declared, the myth suggesting that women cannot win elections and that voters do not vote for women have been debunked. They emphasized their commitment to advocating for all the demands for egalitarian, purple, green and a social municipalism.
EŞİK’s statement reads as follows:
“The results of the local elections clearly demonstrate that when women are nominated as candidates, the public supports them; the public wants to see women in leadership roles.
As women from across the country, representing various political backgrounds and societal groups, we, the members of the Women’s Platform for Equality (EŞİK), have never given in to hopelessness or fatigue. Immediately after the results of the second round of the presidential elections were announced on the night of May 28, 2023, we made the decision to continue our efforts at full speed for the upcoming local elections. Since May 28, we have been discussing our vision for local governance and working diligently to ensure equal representation in local administrations. We recognize the significant contribution of women to today’s election results.
Women will hold the mayoral positions in 5 out of the 30 metropolitan municipalities and 6 provincial municipalities. Özlem Çerçioğlu from the CHP won the mayoral race in Aydın Metropolitan Municipality, Ayşe Ünlüce in Eskişehir, and Candan Yüceer in Tekirdağ, both also from the CHP. Ayşe Serra Bucak Küçük from the DEM Party was elected as the mayor of Diyarbakır, while the AKP’s Fatma Şahin was re-elected as the mayor of Gaziantep.
In other cities, women from the DEM Party were elected as provincial mayors: Hazal Aras in Ağrı, Gülistan Sönük in Batman, and Sofya Alağaş in Siirt. Additionally, Burcu Köksal in Afyonkarahisar, Melek Mızrak Subaşı in Bilecik, and Filiz Gencan Akın in Edirne, all from the CHP, won their respective provincial mayoral races. Gülistan Sönük’s victory in Batman with 64.5% of the votes served as a historic lesson to Serkan Ramanlı, the HÜDA PAR mayoral candidate, who had threatened all women under the guise of a ‘joke’ with the statement, “We won’t interfere with the color of the veil you’ll wear.”
In the 10 provinces won by opposition parties, the percentage of votes received by female mayors was 52.74%. Many districts witnessed women receiving well over 50% of the votes. For example, in Istanbul’s Bakırköy district, CHP’s Ayşegül Özdemir Ovalıoğlu increased her party’s vote share by 10.86 points, securing 67.72% of the votes. Out of the 31-member municipal council, 27 are affiliated with the CHP. A total of 10 women were elected to municipal councils: 9 from the CHP and 1 from the AKP. The highest vote percentage, 86.08%, was achieved by Dilek Diyar Özer from the DEM Party in Diyarbakır’s Lice, followed by the DEM Party’s Şadiye Kırmızıgül with 78.75% of the votes in Hakkari’s Yüksekova. These election results debunked the myths that women cannot win votes and that voters do not support women. Moreover, many young women also emerged victorious in the elections. 22-year-old Zeynep Çelik, running independently, won the elections in the Kalkım district of Çanakkale, becoming one of the symbolic figures of the local elections.
Women will lead numerous district municipalities listed below, excluding those in the 11 provinces. Women will manage the municipalities of 8 districts in İzmir, which represents 40% of the city’s total population. Female candidates have also won in 3 significant districts of Istanbul and Antalya. In many of the listed districts, women have been elected as mayors for the first time. For example, Oya Tekin in Adana Seyhan, Gönül Karabacak in Konya Karapınar, Gonca Köksal in Muğla Menteşe, Leyla Çıtır in Ordu Çamaş, Gülşah Durbay in Manisa Şehzadeler, and Hülya Gümüş in Burdur Bucak are some of the district mayors elected from the CHP. Türkan Kayır in Şırnak İdil is a mayor elected from the DEM Party. Türkan Kayır also became the first Syriac woman elected to municipal management.
In these local elections, numerous women were also elected as village leaders (muhtars). In many cities, women took over the responsibilities of muhtarship in several neighborhoods. For instance, women were elected as muhtars in all 9 neighborhoods of Balıkesir’s Bandırma district. Necla Işık, one of the pioneering women in the fight to protect the Akbelen forest, became the muhtar of İkizköy.
The number of female mayors, council members, and muhtars elected on March 31st has significantly increased, although it is still not at the necessary level. Many women, including volunteers from EŞİK, were elected. We congratulate all the elected women and appreciate the efforts of all women, both affiliated and independent, who worked hard for their elections. We also extend our gratitude to all our female friends who were candidates but not elected for their efforts. We declare once again that we will continue our struggle together until equal representation is achieved in all mechanisms and areas.
As the Women’s Platform for Equality (EŞİK), we had previously announced our ‘Five Urgent Conditions for Egalitarian, Purple, Green, and Public Oriented Municipal Governance’ document for all local governments and male-female local administrators. We will now pursue these demands throughout Turkey.
UNTIL all our living spaces are no longer governed by the rentier economy, urban gangs, construction monopolies, favoritism, and trustee politics, WE WILL NOT GIVE UP ON OUR STRUGGLE!”
Despite facing numerous pressures, those advocating for democracy, peace, freedom, equality, and secularism have emerged victorious.
Even though the ruling political power utilized all available resources, including public funds derived from our taxes, and manipulated the media, both public and partisan, in an unlawful manner, the clear loser of this election was the ruling bloc. The distribution of votes in the provincial general assemblies further indicates that the public is saying ‘enough.’
In the local elections held on March 31st, the main opposition party, CHP, emerged as the leading party, while the ruling bloc and its flagship party, AKP, suffered significant losses compared to the previous local elections. The share of provinces governed by the AKP in the national income stood at 19%, whereas the share of provinces governed by the CHP was 73%.
In essence, the ruling bloc failed to secure the public’s trust. Respect for democracy and the people’s will necessitates that the ruling party should promptly call for early elections. In response to the public’s warning in the local elections, starting from April 1st, the ruling bloc should initiate preparations for an honest and fair election in a libertarian environment, ensuring all political parties and the public participate under equal conditions.
As the election results have also demonstrated, the ruling bloc lacks the legitimacy to enact new laws or amend the Constitution. Let’s reiterate: This Parliament is incapable of drafting a new Constitution or altering any laws, especially those pertaining to fundamental rights and freedoms.
It is everyone’s responsibility to implement equality, both at the local level and nationwide!”