Nine to race to be Burdur’s first female MP

BURDUR

Nine female candidates will race in the May 14 elections to enter the parliament from Burdur, one of the 20 provinces in Türkiye that has never had a female deputy throughout the history of the republic.

Burdur, which has not had any female deputies for 89 years since the amendment made in the Constitution and Election Law in 1934 gave women the right to vote and be elected, will send three deputies to the parliament.

The Justice Unity Party included Kader Ünal, Zeynur Kulak and Nazlı Yavuz on its list, respectively, while the Green Left Party (YSP) gave the first place to Reyhan Yiğit and the third to Semra Baysal.

The Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which is still in the process of the lawsuit filed in the Constitutional Court, announced that it will enter the elections from the YSP lists.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), on the other hand, which sent two deputies from Burdur to the parliament in the 2018 elections, did not nominate a female candidate for the May 14 polls.

Hülya Gümüş, in her part, will compete for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) which nominated her as the second candidate. The main opposition party was able to have one deputy from the southern province in the last general elections.

Participating in the elections under the ruling People’s Alliance, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Great Union Party (BBP) nominated Esma Özdaşlı and Havva Ercan, respectively, both as the third candidate. Patriotic Party also gave the third place to Nil Sevil Uçar.

The lists of parliamentary candidates were a big disappointment in terms of gender equality, Nuray Karaoğlu, the head of the Association for Supporting Women Candidates (KA-DER), said earlier, criticizing the AKP and the CHP for including only 113 and 147 women, respectively, in the 600-person list.

According to the latest report from KA-DER, there may be female MPs in this election from Giresun, Osmaniye, Ardahan, Burdur and Nevşehir, which are among the 20 provinces that have never had female parliamentarians, she added.