Türkan Kayır, returning to her homeland after 37 years abroad, has been elected mayor of Idil (Hezex), Şırnak (Şirnex), alongside co-candidate lawyer Doğan Adıbelli, under the banner of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party in the local elections held on Sunday.
Idil stands out as one of the DEM Party’s most resounding victories, with Türkan Kayır securing 71.27% of the votes, highlighting the district’s strong support for change and minority representation.
This triumph serves as both a personal achievement and a landmark for the representation of minorities in Turkey, signifying Kayır’s position as the first Syriac mayor in the region in over three decades.
The significance of Kayır and Adıbelli’s victory is further deepened by the harrowing history of enforced disappearances and unsolved murders within the Syriac community since the 1990s. The backdrop of decades-long grievances, including the unresolved fate of individuals like Hurmüz Diril and former Idil Mayor Şükrü Tutuş, casts this electoral win in a profound light, symbolising a potential turning point towards addressing long-standing injustices faced by the Syriac people.
The mayoral election of Kayır, a Syriac who had to leave Idil at the age of 12 and settled in Switzerland, alongside Adıbelli, the first lawyer to hold this position in the district, is a testament to the pro-Kurdish DEM Party’s commitment to diversity and representation across Turkey’s communities, building on its history of electing representatives from various religious and national minorities.