Angered by mobbing, woman becomes mayor after defeating former boss

BİLECİK

A municipal employee in the northwestern province of Bilecik who ran for mayor as an independent candidate in the district of Pazaryeri after resigning due to workplace “mobbing” has managed to beat her former boss and win the seat.

“I did this to set an example and show our women what one can achieve by keeping her stance,” said Zekiye Tekin, the new mayor, after the election results were revealed on April 1.

Tekin used to work as a clerk at the municipality before the election, but resigned after her post was changed by former mayor Muzaffer Yalçın.

She initially bid to run from the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) ranks, but the party chose Yalçın, who served as mayor for the past two terms.

Then Tekin decided to go independent, running a lively campaign and netting support particularly from female voters, who she calls her “sisters.”

Tekin got 1,596 votes out of the total 4082, surpassing her former boss by 26 percent.

Click here for local election results in Bilecik according to Anadolu Agency

She became one of the few female mayors elected in cities and districts across Turkey in the March 31 local elections.

Fatma Şahin of the AKP won for a second term in the southeastern province of Gaziantep.

Özlem Çerçioğlu of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) won the metropolitan municipality seat in Aydın, an Aegean province.

Four female mayors from the CHP ranks and one from the AKP were elected in the districts of the Aegean province of İzmir.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) nominated female co-mayor candidates in each city and province they participated in at the elections.