COLOGNE, Germany - Berivan Aymaz, running for mayor Cologne, said the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has launched a campaign to prevent her from winning the post.
Germany's most populous state North Rhine-Westphalia held local elections on September 14. Aymaz, a Green Party candidate born to a Kurdish family in Turkey’s Bingol province in 1972, led the mayoral race with 28.1 percent of votes, but fell short of the required majority. She will face Social Democratic Party (SPD) candidate Torsten Burmester in a September 28 runoff.
She told Rudaw on Thursday that the AfD is campaigning against her.
“The AfD party is conducting a campaign against me. They're calling for people to vote for my rival to block me. But in democracies, it's like this: you vote to express your support for something, you don't vote to block someone. We need a clear stance and solidarity against this. I ask all supporters of democracy who believe in my program and me personally to go to the ballot box on September 28 and vote for me. I believe now we must activate those we activated in the first round of voting,” she said.
She added that Cologne needs a mayor who "supports coexistence and brings people together, not separates them."
The following is the full transcript of the interview with Berivan Aymaz:
Rudaw: Berivan, on the 14th of this month, you won the majority of votes. Now for the second round on the 28th, do you believe you'll win the majority of votes?
Berivan Aymaz: The first round of the election showed the potential for open politics, close to the people, that wants to bring all experiences together for their city. Everyone was surprised that I was ahead by such a large margin. But as an experienced politician who has participated in several elections, I know that one must fight for every vote until the end. That's why I'm fighting for every vote with my party colleagues and supporters.
You're in the heat of the campaign and tireless. What do you want from Cologne voters and what are you doing for their city's future?
Before the first round of the election, I always put this city's main issues on the agenda, such as affordable housing, better management of public transportation, safe and clean public spaces, and also the issue of people addicted to narcotics. How will we help them so they can lighten the burden on public spaces? All these issues are important to people. I've also created concepts for them.
I also know well that in a time when things are very polarized, populism is very prominent. The world situation is moving from democracy toward autocratic states. In this time, people want someone for their city's supervision who supports coexistence and brings people together, not separates them.
What do you ask from Kurdish voters and other nationalities in Cologne, since Cologne is a multicultural and diverse city?
Many people ask me whether immigrants also vote for me. Yes, immigrants have also noticeably voted for us. I always say there are no first-class and second-class votes. All citizens of Cologne are equal. Those who have voting rights are all equal. I want all people of this city with all their diversity, with their different origins, to live together in this city. That all these people feel that local politics understands them and also use their democratic rights. I'm proud that I was able to achieve success in neighborhoods that previously weren't for the Green Party, but now I've achieved victory. This emphasizes to me that I was able to attract the attention of people who were distant from local politics. This is very important to me.
What other message do you have again for Kurdish voters in your city and how important is it that they go to the ballot box on Sunday? Don't forget that the AfD party has gained many votes in this region.
Of course, the AfD party is conducting a campaign against me. They're calling for people to vote for my rival to block me. But in democracies, it's like this: you vote to express your support for something, you don't vote to block someone. We need a clear stance and solidarity against this. I ask all supporters of democracy who believe in my program and me personally to go to the ballot box on September 28 and vote for me. I believe now we must activate those we activated in the first round of voting.