A RECORD number of candidates from the Turkish, Turkish Cypriot and Kurdish communities ran in 2014’s local elections in London.
No fewer than 83 men and women – representing a mix of major and minor political parties – stood in all four corners of the capital, according to the Electoral Commission’s statement of candidates published this week.
The figure was an increase of more than 50 per cent on the 53 candidates who at the last local election four years ago. And just sixteen Turkish candidates stood had stood in the 2002 election, indicating how far the communities’ political representation has developed in a little over a decade.
The centre of the success was Enfield, where existing Labour councillors Ahmet Öykener, Yasemin Brett, Ahmet Hasan, Alev Cazımoğlu, Ayfer Orhan and Ali Bakır were all re-elected, as were Conservative veterans Ertan Hürer and Doğan Delman.
They were joined by Nesimi Erbil, Güney Doğan, Suna Hürman, Haydar Ulus, Jansev Kemal, Turgut Esendağlı and Adeline Kepez for Labour, and Ersin Çelebi for the Conservatives.
To the south in Haringey, five councillors were elected to represent the Turkish-speaking communities as Labour swept the council. The party took 85% of the seats across the borough, dislodging Liberal Democrats in wards like Fortis Green, Muswell Hill and Hornsey.
Among the new arrivals was Turkish Cypriot Emine Ibrahim, who won in Harringay ward, and the Kurdish Makbule Güneş in Tottenham Green.
The elections produced the largest ever bloc of Turkish councillors south of the river after two candidates won in Bexley.
Six men from all three main parties stood in the borough in southeast London, which is home to a significant Turkish Cypriot population regularly overlooked by members of the community living north of the Thames. Ahmet Dourmoush, a former president of the Turkish Community Football Federation (TTFF), won a seat standing for the Conservative Party in Longlands ward, while fellow party member Cafer Münür was victorious in East Wickham.
And six Turkish and Kurdish candidates from Hackney and Islington completed a remarkable result for our communities in London at these elections.