Elif Eralp ended her victory speech on election night in Turkish with the words “Tarih yazdik arkadaslar“ - “We have written history, friends“ - after her “Die Linke“ came first in the Berlin elections on September 20, 2026, paving the way for her to become the first mayor of the German capital with a migrant background.
According to preliminary results, the party is collecting around 25.1% of the vote, compared to 14.3% for the Greens and 12.1% for the SPD. It is these numbers that put “Die Linke“ in a position to seek a coalition majority in the Berlin parliament if the negotiations are concluded successfully.
From a family of political refugees
Eralp's story is closely linked to Turkey and the political turmoil there. She is the daughter of refugees who left the country after the military coup of September 12, 1980. Her father was a doctor and trade unionist, and her mother was detained for several weeks for organizing workers.
The family was granted asylum in Germany when her mother was eight months pregnant. Eralp was born in January 1981 in Munich. Later, the family's political activism continued in Germany, and she herself grew up with demonstrations from an early age.
A symbolic victory for the Turkish community
Eralp's success also has broader significance for the large Turkish community in Germany. Nearly three million people of Turkish origin live in Berlin - from the first guest workers who arrived in the 1960s and 1970s to political refugees, students and representatives of minorities.
Before the election, Eralp told DW Türkürkçe: “Our people want to be represented. After years of racism and discrimination, the possibility of a person of Turkish origin becoming the prime minister of a province makes them happy, and that makes me happy too“. She added that people ask her: “Will we be deported? Will we be able to live here? Will our children be victims of racism?“.
During the post-election celebrations, “De Linke“ supporters danced the halay - a traditional Turkish dance - and chanted the Kurdish slogan “Jin, Jiyan, Azadî“ (“Woman, Life, Freedom“). About Eralp This is both a political and personal sign that her Turkish origin is not an obstacle, but part of the public image with which she enters the Berlin government.
What the vote in Berlin shows
The election result also brings another change: nine more candidates of Turkish origin are entering or returning to Berlin's new regional parliament. This makes the Turkish presence in local politics even more visible, at a time when the topics of migration, discrimination and fear of the far right are among the most discussed in Germany.
Eralp has already been compared to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani as the face of a new generation of left-wing politicians, who speak out for housing, equal access and representation. In Berlin, however, the concrete political test is yet to come: whether the election victory will translate into a stable government with the support of the Greens and the SPD.
For now, the strongest image of the evening remains her short sentence in Turkish. With it Eralp did not just celebrate the victory of “De Linke“, but emphasized that for the first time in the history of Berlin, a woman with Turkish roots is one step away from the highest local office.
Sources: BTV News, Reuters, DW Türkçe, BBC Türkçe, Halk TV, Milliyet