Age Statistics of Mayoral Candidates in Local Elections (2009, 2014, 2019)

Young people aged 18-24 were able to run for and be elected as metropolitan, province, district, and town mayors for the first time in the 2019 local elections, following the reduction of the eligible age for candidacy to 18 in 2017. After this change, in the 2019 local elections, a total of 336 young people aged between 18-24 ran for mayorships, with 7 for metropolitan municipalities and 329 for province, district, and town municipalities.

The number of candidates aged 25-29 has decreased over the years in the mayoral races. While there were 931 young candidates in 2009, this number fell to 387 in 2014, and further to 313 in 2019. In other words, the number of young people aged 18-24 who ran for mayoral positions in the 2019 local elections surpassed the number of those aged 25-29. However, the number of young candidates aged 25-29 in the metropolitan mayoral race increased from 6 to 25 in 2014. But similar to the municipalities that are not metropolitans, this number dropped to 7 in 2019.

The candidacies of those aged 30-34 and 35-39 have always been more numerous than those of the 25-29 age group in every local election, yet the changes over the years for all three age groups were similar. While the number of mayoral candidates has continuously decreased, the numbers for metropolitan mayoral candidates increased in the 2014 elections but decreased in 2019.

The 40-44 and 45-49 age groups also showed changes similar to the other age groups, with one exception. A different situation emerged specifically for metropolitan candidates in the 40-44 age group. The number of candidates in metropolitans, which was 17 in 2009, first rose to 54 in 2014, then dropped to 43. For the 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, and 45-49 age groups, the numbers in 2019 after increases and decreases are quite close to those in 2009. The most candidacies in the 2009 elections were in the 45-49 age group.

The number of candidates in the 50-54 and 55-59 age groups has also changed similarly over the years. Increases and decreases in metropolitan candidacies were observed, respectively, while a decrease was seen in province, district, and town candidacies over the years. The most candidacies in both the 2014 and 2019 elections were in the 50-54 age group.

For the 60-64 and 65-69 age groups, no different change was observed in the metropolitans compared to other age groups. However, although the number of candidates for province, district, and town candidacies decreased from 2009 to 2014, there was an increase in the number of candidates for both age groups in 2019. The relatively older population has shown a stronger desire to be elected in the last local elections.

In the 70-74 age group, unlike all other age groups, there was an increase in the number of candidates for province, district, and town mayorships in both elections. In metropolitans, however, the number of candidates only decreased by 1 from 2014 to 2019.

For those aged 75 and over, while there were no candidates in metropolitans in 2009, this number increased to 3 in 2014 and to 6 in 2019. The number of candidates for province, district, and town mayoral positions has continually increased.