Four ‘LGBT friendly’ mayors elected in Istanbul and Mersin

ISTANBUL

The four candidates have agreed to protect gay rights and promote anti-discrimination measures comprising gender orientation and gender identity. AFP Photo

Four candidates who signed the LGBT Friendly Municipality Protocol have been elected in the local elections March 30.The protocol, prepared by the Social Policies, Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Studies Association (SPOD), was signed by 40 candidates who ran during the elections.According to the protocol, the signatories vow to protect and improve gay rights, agree to partner with LGBT associations and promote anti-discrimination measures comprising gender orientation and gender identity.Three of the four elected LGBT friendly mayors are the Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) candidates of Istanbul’s central districts: Aykurt Nuhoğlu in Kadıköy, Murat Hazinedar in Beşiktaş and Hayri İnönü in Şişli.The other is the Peace and Democracy Party’s BDP co-candidate in the southern Mersin province’s Akdeniz district Yüksel Mutlu, who won the race in his constituency, becoming the only LGBT friendly mayor outside Turkey’s biggest metropolis.