MEDİNE MAMEDOĞLU

 

Mêrdin- Political parties speed up their election campaigns for the local elections that will be held in Turkey and  Northern Kurdistan on March 31, 2024. One of the districts where the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) speeds up its election campaigns is Mardin’s Kerboran (Dargeçit) district. The elected mayor of Dargeçit Municipality was replaced by a state-appointed mayor in 2016. In 2019, the AKP won the municipality by bringing police officers and soldiers from other cities and registering them as voters in the district. The municipality held by the AKP has sold the municipal properties, zoned agricultural lands for construction without serving the people.

The DEM Party has speeded up its election campaign in the district to regain the municipality. DEM Party’s Co-mayoral candidate for the district is Asya Gezer, sister of Garibe Gezer, who died under suspicious circumstances in prison. The people of the district are determined to take back their municipality from the AKP in the upcoming local elections. NuJINHA spoke to women of Dargeçit about the upcoming local elections.

‘Kerboran deserves better services’

“We will vote for ourselves, for our own existence and identity,” said Kadriye Demir, pointing out that they received no services from the municipality held by the AKP. “KErboran deserves better services. We will vote for ourselves (meaning the DEM Party). We will take what belongs to us in the elections.”

 ‘We will vote to demand peace’

 Halime Demir told us that they would vote for the DEM Party defending their language and identity. She also pointed to the isolation imposed on Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in Imrali prison and said, “We will vote to lift the isolation.”

“Our children are tortured in prisons. This isolation and torture must end. Our young people go to European countries to build a better future for themselves. We will vote in the elections to end this war and isolation. We will vote for ourselves, the DEM Party. Neither our votes nor our will are for sale. All we want is peace and freedom. We have been demanding peace for years and we will vote to demand peace again. We will take back our municipality.”

 ‘We will do our best to regain our municipality’

      

Safiye Doğan told us that the Dargeçit Municipality held by the AKP has not provided any services to them since 2019.

“We will do our best to regain our municipality. We will visit street by street to regain our municipality. We are Kurds and all Kurds should vote for themselves. I call on all Kurds not to sell themselves and their votes. Vote thinking about your language, your villages and your past. Municipalities belong to the people and we will take back our municipality on March 31.”

Munsime Aydın and Mecbure Küçükkaya also told us that they would vote to demand peace and freedom. “The municipality does not work for the people. It used to build roads but it does not do that anymore. As the people of Kerboran, we will take back our municipality with a majority of votes.”