Four Turkish deputies elected in Greece

According to data from the Greek Ministry of the Interior, in the elections in which 97.53 percent of the votes were counted, Özgür Ferhat of the Radical Left Alliance (SYRIZA) in Rhodope, İlhan Ahmet, who was expelled from the Advisory Council of the West Thrace Turkish Minority of the PASOK Party last year, and SYRIZA in Xanthi. Hüseyin Zeybek and Burhan Baran of the PASOK Party were elected deputies.

Ferhat, whose main profession is dentistry in Komotini, entered the Greek parliament for the first time with a record 12,146 votes.

Zeybek, Baran and Ahmet had entered the Greek parliament as deputies in the previous elections.

Ferhat, in his speech after the announcement of the results, stated that they will work with a sense of responsibility for the people of the region.

Ferhat said that the victory they obtained in the Rhodope province did not only have a symbolic meaning, “we have obtained the first place in these elections, which reflects the free will of our people, with the support that our minority gives us. I would like to thank you for the support you have given me and my party, and we are especially sure that we will represent our minority in the best possible way.”

Baran also said that the election results did not surprise him, stating that they evaluated the campaign period very highly.

Noting that 2 Turkish MPs were re-elected in Xanthi, Baran said, “It has been very good for our Xanthi. We managed to get two deputies out again. This is our pride, ”he said.

Zeybek, on the other hand, emphasized that SYRIZA did not achieve the desired result across the country, saying, “However, as we expected in our own province, our minority once again trusted us. Good luck to our minority. We will continue to advocate for our minority in parliament, as we have done so far.”

While New Democracy was the leading party in 58 of the country’s 59 constituencies, SYRIZA finished ahead in the electoral race only in the Rhodope region, which also includes Komotini. (AA)