‘Municipal elections are a historic step’ say women of Qamishlo
“We want municipalities that will serve the people,” said the women of Qamishlo, commenting on the upcoming municipal elections in North and East Syria.
ZEYNEB ÎSA
Qamishlo- Kongra Star and Zenubya Women's Community issued a joint declaration on May 22 with the motto, “Towards democratic municipalities with the will of Jin, Jiyan, Azadi”. In the declaration, they point out that everyone should vote for their own candidates in the municipal elections to be held in North and East Syria on June 11, 2024. NuJINHA spoke to the women of Qamishlo about the upcoming elections.
‘We should support our municipalities’
Kurdish people will head to the polls to elect their mayors on June 11, said Îlham Şêxê, one of the women of Qamishlo. “As the people of North and East Syria, we will vote for our candidates. What we expect from the co-mayors to be elected on June 11 is to provide services to the people and develop projects. For instance, our children face difficulties in going to school during the mud season. We demand the municipality to pave our roads with asphalt. Secondly, we suffer from the smoke produced by diesel generators, causing diseases such as cancer. The municipality should remove these generators and set them up away from our neighborhoods. We want our city to be beautiful and peaceful like all other cities. There should be trash cans in every street. As the residents of the city, we should support the municipality by not throwing trash on the streets.”
‘These elections are a historical step’
Yasmîn Îbrahîm also demanded the municipalities to provide services to the people. “As the Kurdish people, we are happy to have the municipal elections in North and East Syria. These elections are a historical step for us. On June 11, we will head to the polls to elect our co-mayors. We will support our municipality to provide services to us. The municipality should develop projects for people, especially young people.”
‘The municipalities should create employment opportunities’
In her speech, Mehfûza Yûsif wished success to the mayoral candidates and said, “My request from the mayors to be elected is to support the people by developing projects and creating employment opportunities. I live in the neighborhood of Qidurbeg and I request the mayors to pave our roads with asphalt and plant trees. On June 11, we will head to the polls to elect our co-mayors.”