Three Kurds win Finland municipal election, become council members

TURKU, Finland (Kurdistan24) – Following the municipal elections in Finland on Sunday, three Kurdish citizens were voted as council members.

The National Coalition Party (NCP) won Finland’s municipal elections for the third time since 2008 while the Finns Party experienced the biggest loss in the election.

The Greens, who were the opposition party, received several votes from all around the country.

Finland is home to over 12,000 Kurds who had previously migrated from different parts of Kurdistan.

According to Kurdistan24 correspondent Bargasht Akrayi in Finland, 36 Kurdish candidates were nominated from various political parties for the election.

Akrayi added three of the candidates secured enough votes to become members of the municipal council.

Muhis Azizi, a Kurdish citizen from Iranian Kurdistan (Rojhilat), has been living in Finland for 21 years.

He was elected as the member of the Turku Council for the second time, a city located on the southwest coast of Finland.

“I hope I can find job opportunities for graduate students,” Azizi told Kurdistan24. “This is something very important for me.”

Besides finding vacancies for graduates, he also mentioned educating the new generation in Finland was one of his priorities.

Burhan Ahmedi, another Kurdish candidate elected as a member of the Turku Council, expressed his gratitude to those who voted for him.

“I am a representative for everyone, not only Kurds,” Ahmedi told Kurdistan24. “I thank everyone so much, whoever voted for me and gave me trust, especially the Kurds.”

According to unofficial data, there are over one million Kurds in Europe. Moreover, Sweden and Germany have two of Europe’s largest Kurdish population.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Additional reporting by Bargasht Akrayi)