She won the election by a landslide: She lost her neighborhood headmanship after a council member's nickname was printed on the ballot

Fatma Tunçezer, who served as the neighborhood head (muhtar) in the Hürriyet neighborhood of Bursa's Osmangazi district during the previous term, ran as a candidate again in the March 31, 2024 local elections. Fatma Tunçezer, who outperformed her 5 rivals in the election, was shocked by an objection filed against her.

Tunçezer, who had the ballots printed at the same printing house where they had previously printed her campaign posters, learned that her election as muhtar had been invalidated due to an objection filed because the 'Boza' nickname of one of her council member candidates was written in parentheses. Stating that this situation escaped her notice and that she did not know it was illegal, Tunçezer said, "We were told that only that council member's candidacy would be dropped. The muhtarlık has been cancelled. I will apply to the Supreme Election Council (YSK) again and seek my rights."

Muhtar candidate Fatma Tunçezer stated that the certificate of election has not been given to anyone yet and that she will fight for her rights until the end, saying, "I have lived here for 55 years. I also know our four previous muhtars. I became muhtar in 2019. Over 5 years, we worked together beautifully like a family. Everyone calls me 'mother.' We got through the earthquake and pandemic processes very well. My neighborhood residents and I wanted me to be a candidate again in the local elections. Our number of registered voters was 3,713, but there was not much participation. There were 2,650 votes cast, and I received approximately 1,600 votes. I received more votes than the other 4 candidates combined. I received 6 out of every 10 votes."

"The father of the friend whose name we wrote as a council member on the ballot was a dessert maker here years ago. When he passed away, his son Nejat Tatlıcıoğlu's nickname remained 'Boza.' He also had the 'Boza' expression written next to his name on the campaign posters we distributed during the election process," said Tunçezer, adding, "While the ballot was being printed, even though neither he nor I were aware of it, it escaped the printer's notice and 'Boza' was written in parentheses next to his name. We didn't notice it either. We submitted our ballot before the election started. No problems were seen. I learned later that a report had been filed, but I only found out about this situation later."

Tunçezer continued her words as follows:

"After the election, we were told, 'Only the council membership of Nejat Tatlıcıoğlu, whose name has 'Boza' written next to it, will be dropped, there is no problem.' We even celebrated. The second candidate received 403 votes. Another received 333 votes, another friend 229, and the last friend 124 votes. I received 1,600 votes. We heard in the morning that a complaint had been filed. Friends told me that the muhtarlık had been revoked. Neighborhood residents warned me, and I filed my objection. It was rejected. It was a mistake. We didn't know this. I will apply to the YSK again. We will seek our rights. My happiness and pride have been disregarded."

Fatma Tunçezer claimed that in their subsequent research, they found that some council members of other candidates resided in different neighborhoods, stating, "Besides that, we also learned that 4-5 council members were ballot box officials. We know that this is also prohibited by law."

Citizens expressed that they were very satisfied with their muhtar and that she solved all their problems. Neighborhood residents have started a signature campaign to be submitted to the YSK.

News Source: İHA