The July 4 elections in the country produced the highest representation of minorities in parliament, and a record number of Muslim candidates also won the right to enter parliament. In the 2019 general elections, 19 Muslim candidates won the right to enter parliament, and in the 2017 elections, 15. However, as a result of the July 4 elections, the number of Muslim candidates who won the right to enter parliament increased to 25 There are approximately 3.5 million Muslims in the country, and 8 Muslim MPs won the right to enter parliament for the first time.
- The country’s first female MP of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus origin was also elected.
- 18 of the Muslim MPs entered the House of Commons from the Labour Party, 2 from the Conservative Party and 1 from the Liberal Democrat Party.
- Four Muslim pro-Gaza independent parliamentary candidates were also elected and were among those who achieved a majority.
- Sadik al-Hassan was elected as the Labour MP for North Somerset, unseating the 32-year Conservative MP Liam Fox, while Abtisam Muhamed became the country’s first MP of Yemeni origin.
- While Labor Party candidates were elected as MPs in all 20 electoral districts where Muslims constitute more than 30 percent of the population, the party’s Turkish Cypriot candidate, Nesil Çalışkan, became the country’s first female MP of Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) origin.
The Conservative Party rule was over
Of the 25 MPs who managed to enter the House of Commons, 8 were originally from Azad Jammu and Kashmir, which is under Pakistani control. The country’s 14-year rule by the Conservative Party ended after the general elections held on July 4. The Conservative Party’s number of MPs, which had been 365 five years earlier, fell to 120, while the Labour Party won 411 seats in the 650- seat House of Commons and formed a new government.
