Individual votes make a difference
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Doğan News Agency
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 10, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Two races in the recently concluded local election really go right down to the wire as two candidates for the position of muhtar, or local headman, in different provinces just manage to scrape by with a margin of one and two votes, showing that every vote matters
Two muhtar candidates who received two and three votes, respectively, succeeded in winning the right to administer their neighborhoods when the frontrunners’ complaints against each other led to their disqualifications.
The race to become the muhtar, or "headman," of Çeltik village in the Black Sea province of Karabük became a family affair when Erol Koymat, 43, won the post with only his own vote and that of his wife. In the local elections on March 29, they were the only two of the village’s 99 registered voters to cast ballots for Koymat. Incumbent Kemal Koymatoğlu received 52 votes, while challenger Fevzi Kayaoğlu got 41.
But after the votes were counted, Kayaoğlu lodged a complaint at the office of the local election board, arguing that Koymatoğlu, 60, did not reside in the village. The board found his complaint valid, disqualifying the top vote-getter. Koymatoğlu then filled a complaint against Kayaoğlu, saying he had a criminal record. The board found this complaint valid, too, and disqualified the second-place candidate as well, leaving Koymat to be named muhtar.
Comes as a surprise
Koymat said he was surprised to be chosen because not even his relatives backed his candidacy. "They told me they were happy with the muhtar and did not want to divide their support, but I still became a candidate," he said. "I will try to serve the village even if they did not vote for me."
The outgoing muhtar, Koymatoğlu, said he had been serving the village in this position for the past 20 years. "I have a house both in the village and in the nearby town of Yenice," he said. "The new muhtar is my cousin. I will always support him and my village."
A similar incident occurred in the Yenice neighborhood of the town of Yomra in the Black Sea province of Trabzon.
Mustafa Akbulut, who received three votes in the local elections, won the muhtar post when the two leading candidates, Abdullah Kartal, who received 273 votes, and Lokman Kartal, who got 173, accused each other of not residing in the neighborhood.
Despite the lack of support he drew in the election, Akbulut said he was the best-qualified candidate. "I was surprised when the local election board said I would be the muhtar," he added. "If I have such a right, I will do it."
The race to become the muhtar, or "headman," of Çeltik village in the Black Sea province of Karabük became a family affair when Erol Koymat, 43, won the post with only his own vote and that of his wife. In the local elections on March 29, they were the only two of the village’s 99 registered voters to cast ballots for Koymat. Incumbent Kemal Koymatoğlu received 52 votes, while challenger Fevzi Kayaoğlu got 41.
But after the votes were counted, Kayaoğlu lodged a complaint at the office of the local election board, arguing that Koymatoğlu, 60, did not reside in the village. The board found his complaint valid, disqualifying the top vote-getter. Koymatoğlu then filled a complaint against Kayaoğlu, saying he had a criminal record. The board found this complaint valid, too, and disqualified the second-place candidate as well, leaving Koymat to be named muhtar.
Comes as a surprise
Koymat said he was surprised to be chosen because not even his relatives backed his candidacy. "They told me they were happy with the muhtar and did not want to divide their support, but I still became a candidate," he said. "I will try to serve the village even if they did not vote for me."
The outgoing muhtar, Koymatoğlu, said he had been serving the village in this position for the past 20 years. "I have a house both in the village and in the nearby town of Yenice," he said. "The new muhtar is my cousin. I will always support him and my village."
A similar incident occurred in the Yenice neighborhood of the town of Yomra in the Black Sea province of Trabzon.
Mustafa Akbulut, who received three votes in the local elections, won the muhtar post when the two leading candidates, Abdullah Kartal, who received 273 votes, and Lokman Kartal, who got 173, accused each other of not residing in the neighborhood.
Despite the lack of support he drew in the election, Akbulut said he was the best-qualified candidate. "I was surprised when the local election board said I would be the muhtar," he added. "If I have such a right, I will do it."