Prime Minister-President/President from the Western Black Sea region

When I started this article, the elections for the President (President) and Members of Parliamentwere to be held in 21 days. Today, exactly eight days later, on Sunday, the second round of elections will be held and the President to be elected will either be from Eastern Anatolia or the Eastern Black Sea region. When we look at the big picture, we can see that the picture, which has been traditional since the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, shows similar characteristics: Either those who came to these lands as immigrants or politicians from the Eastern Black Sea or Eastern Anatolia regions occupy the highest office in the country. 

Now, one may say "what matters is competence and merit, it doesn't matter where the officials who serve this people are from". However, many provinces rightly point out that this situation does not ensure the (regional) equality envisaged by the Constitution. When we look at the past and present, we see that in practice, public resources have gone more to provinces that have produced ministers, prime ministers and presidents.  

Are there any presidents or prime ministers from the Western Black Sea region?

In 103 years, 12 Turkish citizens have been elected President 21 times (by parliament, referendum or popular vote). This election will give the Presidency for the 22nd time to either the 12th Turkish citizen or the 13th Turkish citizen. 

In the parliamentary system that existed between 1920 and 1923, 5 different Turkish citizens were elected as the Head of the Executive Board of Deputies 6 times, and in the parliamentary system that existed between 1923 and 2018, 27 different Turkish citizens were elected as the Prime Minister of the 70 governments of the Republic of Turkey. 

While there are no Western Black Sea people among the Presidents and the Council of Executive Deputies, there are two different Prime Ministers. One of them is the late Bülent Ecevit, who came to Kastamonu from Tunceli due to his father's duties, and the other is the late Necmettin Erbakan, who was born in Sinop as a result of his family coming to the Western Black Sea region from Adana. 

No one who can be called originally from the Western Black Sea region has had the chance to serve in our country as Prime Minister-President/President. 

Parliamentary Candidates from Western Black Sea Region in Istanbul and Ankara

Istanbul and Ankara are among the world metropolises and have received significant migration from the provinces. For this reason, within the populations of these metropolises, for example, more people from Çankırı live in Ankara than the population of Çankırı, and more people from Kastamonu live in Istanbul than the population of Kastamonu. 

However, many parliamentary candidates from Western Black Sea origin, whom I personally know, were not given enough chances to become parliamentary candidates in these two metropolises and they could not be included in the parliamentary candidate lists. 

As of now, the number of Western Black Sea deputies from these two world cities (11 provinces) cannot be counted on the fingers of one hand. 

While many candidates from the Eastern Black Sea and Eastern Anatolian regions of Istanbul and Ankara went to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, the fact that the Western Black Sea Region lagged far behind has been a cause for denial. I can say that the people of the Western Black Sea region complain that they do not have influence in proportion to their population.

However, the presidential election is extremely important for the region's demand for equal opportunity. 

Ministers should be equally distributed to the regions

I believe that the region's inability to produce high-level state administrators at the level of President or Prime Minister needs to be analyzed and analyzed. However, this is not the subject of this article. 

On the other hand, the fact that the region has not been given a ministry for a long time is seen as an important reason for the Western Black Sea region to remain the poorest region. The fact that the TR82 region is lagging behind in the TurkStat data offends the people of the region, which has by far the highest number of martyrs in Çanakkale and the War of Independence. The people of the Western Black Sea region think that they are being punished while they expect to be rewarded and they cannot make sense of this.  

For the people of the region who did not get what they wanted in the parliamentary elections, the new period and process that will start on May 29, 2023 is of great importance. Assigning two ministries to the region in the cabinet to be formed can start a new process. For example, if the Western Black Sea region, which will be chosen as a center for tourism, water policies and high-speed rail, is given this opportunity, the region can stand out as a new Switzerland. The Western Black Sea Region could even become the locomotive of Turkey's development process. 

The Promise of Equal Ministries for Regions Determines the Winner of the Presidential Election

This is a fact: The promise of two ministries for the Western Black Sea region will bring most, if not all, of the votes to the candidate who will make this promise. 

As far as I can see, the PR teams of our leading political parties are not open to innovation, they cannot reach the hearts of the people. Voters turn to their own candidate to avoid voting for the candidate they dislike or hate. 

On May 28, there is one more way for either of the two candidates to win the election: 

A promise to give equal ministries to each region.

But local and national. 

It should even include performance.

Saying that we will make ministers from the provinces with the highest percentage of votes from each region.

Wouldn't this create a great and new excitement within each region in a sweet competition?