“Turkish Mamdani” on track for state premiership in Berlin, Germany

Elif Eralp, who was born in Turkey, could become Berlin’s first female governing mayor with a migrant background, prompting a Turkish newspaper to dub her the “Turkish Mamdani” of Berlin.

She is the lead candidate for Die Linke (The Left) in Berlin, which won the state election with 25.7% of the vote, Caliber.Az reports.

Eralp, a 45-year-old lawyer of Turkish descent, built her campaign around tackling Berlin’s housing crisis and high rents.

If Eralp succeeds in forming a government, she would become the first woman with a migrant background to head a German federal state. In Berlin, the position also carries the title of Governing Mayor of the German capital.

Turkish newspaper Karar has dubbed Eralp the “Turkish Mamdani of Berlin”, referring to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who was born in Uganda to a family of Indian descent.

The preliminary results showed the AfD came third in Berlin, while the party won the election in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU suffered defeats in both states.

By Bakhtiyar Abbasov