ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Two Kurdish women were elected into the European Union Parliament for their respective parties in Sweden and Germany following elections on Sunday.
Evin Incir, 34, and Özlem Alev Demirel, 35, will represent their respective parties in the EU.
Incir, from the city of Uppsala, north of the Swedish capital Stockholm, was a top-five candidate for the Social Democratic Party.
She told Kurdistan 24 ahead of the elections that she wanted a seat in the EU Parliament to push forward the Kurdish cause and address the Kurdish question more fervently.
“The oppression and injustice that Kurds have suffered and continue to suffer are indeed important issues which I intend to bring up if I am elected to the EU Parliament,” Incir said.
Read More: Kurdish woman top-five candidate for Swedish party in EU parliamentary elections
Demirel, meanwhile, was one of two leading candidates for The Left party of Germany.
Before the May 26 elections, Kurdistan 24 spoke with the 35-year-old who has been involved in politics professionally since the age of 19.
Demirel, an Alevi Kurd originally from Malatya, Kurdistan of Turkey, said she has always been “fascinated with politics” which has “become my life.”
A graduate from the University of Bonn, Demirel said she is proud of her Kurdish identityand vowed to work hard “to be a voice for the voiceless.”
Read More: Kurd in Germany running in EU elections proud of her Kurdish identity
The world’s largest multi-country vote produced the highest voter turnout in 20 years with 50.9 percent of people casting ballots. Belgium had the highest turnout with 88.5 percent while Slovakia had the lowest at 22.7 percent.
(Additional reporting by Awara Hawrami and Kawa Mohammed Amin)