What Bodrum expects as election daze passes
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Chris Drum Berkaya
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 01, 2009 00:00
BODRUM -They were not necessarily voters, but the foreign-born residents of Bodrum have watched the local elections closely. Some had to, as they were exposed to automated phone ads or loud music banging from cars speakers, but for many, it was interesting to see the town during the local elections and what to expect in the future
The foreign-born residents of Bodrum peninsula, whether voters or not, have watched the local election campaigns more closely this year and many look forward to the changes the newly elected leaders will bring to the area.
While some residents even met the candidates and threw a few questions their way, many more endured the automated phone calls, the text messages, the noisy vans and songs and the meetings that closed down streets. Political discussions seemed to break out at lunches and, in Bodrum at least, a lot of consideration went into the choice between two evenly matched candidates. Peace, however, did eventually descend, and amazingly fast Ğ the flags and posters disappeared within minutes of the shutdown on Saturday night.
The sun came out in Bodrum on Sunday, and with spring well and truly in the air, the town’s locals shrugged off their coats and scarves and went off to vote. I was one of them, participating in my first local election.
Long queue
The crowds were standing around at the school and a steady stream of people was going in to queue at the separate classrooms and their voting boxes. The old retiring muhtar was struggling with his thick list of all the voters and the slips of paper given to those who hadn’t checked their names beforehand. A friend discovered that she hadn’t stayed on the list after last year’s registration. People of many ages were there, showing with their presence how much they value this day and their vote. There were the old ladies, who came slowly but determinedly, hanging on a relative’s arm, or, in one case, a well-dressed woman who grimly, painfully moved through the crowd on her two crutches. There were struggling young families with toddlers and babies Ğ the swings in the courtyard were a boon while they patiently waited. The sunshine and the relaxed atmosphere made voting day a community social event.
It was a small source of wonder that in the actual voting procedure, the individual voter was not trusted to keep their different votes separate, but had to first stamp the sheets and stuff them into one colored envelope and put it in the box, then go back to the desk for the next voting paper and envelope. The reason for the slow-moving queues became very apparent!
Some people endured two hours or more of waiting as there were fewer boxes for just as many voters in their ward. Friends reported seeing the family patriarch in the villages helping his wife and daughters vote. His vote, it seemed.
Was it the spring sunshine or coincidence that the voters also shrugged off many of the men who have led their particular patch on the peninsula? There has been a change in six out of the 11 mayors on the peninsula, and two more came very close to losing. The election was decided very much on local personalities.
Change is in the air. In the area’s second-biggest town, Turgutreis, a nonvoter said, "I am delighted with the result Ğ a clean-up can be hoped for, the new man can only be an improvement." But many Göltürkbükü residents are glum. "There should be a law against third terms," one said after the incumbent won with only 37 percent when the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and Democratic Left Party, or DSP, split the vote, taking 25 percent each.
Beach party
Gümüşlük foreigners were found dancing at their new mayor’s celebration party on the beach Monday. "Bliss after weeks of noise!" a longtime Bodrum resident nonvoter said. "I hope for a new chapter for Bodrum with more vision. We hope that one of the prettiest places in Turkey can now access a better future with someone in charge with a plan for the next five years."
As the tourists start to arrive this week in earnest, another local gave her considered view: "I think that the peninsula has been ready for a change of leadership for a while," said Karen, a Bodrum resident. "The critical issue for Bodrum is now image and marketing, which in the past has relied on the natural assets of the area and has almost happened by sheer luck. However, within national and international markets, it is now up to our leaders to lead us all in promoting this area, and the country as a whole, in a consistently high-quality way, set within the context of long-term cultural and economic aims. At the end of the day, we know that Bodrum has location, location, location. What Bodrum now needs is promotion, promotion, promotion."
While some residents even met the candidates and threw a few questions their way, many more endured the automated phone calls, the text messages, the noisy vans and songs and the meetings that closed down streets. Political discussions seemed to break out at lunches and, in Bodrum at least, a lot of consideration went into the choice between two evenly matched candidates. Peace, however, did eventually descend, and amazingly fast Ğ the flags and posters disappeared within minutes of the shutdown on Saturday night.
The sun came out in Bodrum on Sunday, and with spring well and truly in the air, the town’s locals shrugged off their coats and scarves and went off to vote. I was one of them, participating in my first local election.
Long queue
The crowds were standing around at the school and a steady stream of people was going in to queue at the separate classrooms and their voting boxes. The old retiring muhtar was struggling with his thick list of all the voters and the slips of paper given to those who hadn’t checked their names beforehand. A friend discovered that she hadn’t stayed on the list after last year’s registration. People of many ages were there, showing with their presence how much they value this day and their vote. There were the old ladies, who came slowly but determinedly, hanging on a relative’s arm, or, in one case, a well-dressed woman who grimly, painfully moved through the crowd on her two crutches. There were struggling young families with toddlers and babies Ğ the swings in the courtyard were a boon while they patiently waited. The sunshine and the relaxed atmosphere made voting day a community social event.
It was a small source of wonder that in the actual voting procedure, the individual voter was not trusted to keep their different votes separate, but had to first stamp the sheets and stuff them into one colored envelope and put it in the box, then go back to the desk for the next voting paper and envelope. The reason for the slow-moving queues became very apparent!
Some people endured two hours or more of waiting as there were fewer boxes for just as many voters in their ward. Friends reported seeing the family patriarch in the villages helping his wife and daughters vote. His vote, it seemed.
Was it the spring sunshine or coincidence that the voters also shrugged off many of the men who have led their particular patch on the peninsula? There has been a change in six out of the 11 mayors on the peninsula, and two more came very close to losing. The election was decided very much on local personalities.
Change is in the air. In the area’s second-biggest town, Turgutreis, a nonvoter said, "I am delighted with the result Ğ a clean-up can be hoped for, the new man can only be an improvement." But many Göltürkbükü residents are glum. "There should be a law against third terms," one said after the incumbent won with only 37 percent when the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and Democratic Left Party, or DSP, split the vote, taking 25 percent each.
Beach party
Gümüşlük foreigners were found dancing at their new mayor’s celebration party on the beach Monday. "Bliss after weeks of noise!" a longtime Bodrum resident nonvoter said. "I hope for a new chapter for Bodrum with more vision. We hope that one of the prettiest places in Turkey can now access a better future with someone in charge with a plan for the next five years."
As the tourists start to arrive this week in earnest, another local gave her considered view: "I think that the peninsula has been ready for a change of leadership for a while," said Karen, a Bodrum resident. "The critical issue for Bodrum is now image and marketing, which in the past has relied on the natural assets of the area and has almost happened by sheer luck. However, within national and international markets, it is now up to our leaders to lead us all in promoting this area, and the country as a whole, in a consistently high-quality way, set within the context of long-term cultural and economic aims. At the end of the day, we know that Bodrum has location, location, location. What Bodrum now needs is promotion, promotion, promotion."