Basel witnesses a historic moment as Mustafa Atici, the first migrant, secures a seat in the executive.

The people of Basel elected Mustafa Atici (SP) to the government on Sunday. The SP was able to defend its seat in the executive following the election of Beat Jans to the Federal Council. Atici is the first migrant to be elected to the Basel executive.

In the second round of the election to replace him on the cantonal government, former National Councillor Atici received 25,198 votes according to the final results from the State Chancellery. His conservative challenger Luca Urgese (FDP) received 22,228 votes.

The far-right candidate Eric Weber won 1732 votes. Voter turnout in the government replacement election was 48.1 percent

A Migrant Governs Basel-Stadt or the First Time

With Atici’s victory, the SP has been able to retain its three seats in the seven-member government council. This means that the Basel-Stadt executive is still made up of three representatives from the SP, two from the LDP and one each from the Center Party and GLP.

Atici, who has lived in Switzerland since 1992, is the first member of the Basel government with a migration background. “I see my election as encouragement for the migrants living here and as a sign that many things are possible in this community,” he told the Keystone-SDA news agency.

On the other hand, he was also dismayed by the many xenophobic attacks during the election campaign. “I’ve been in politics for 20 years, but I’ve never had to experience anything like this before,” said Atici.

Atici is expected to take over the Department of Education from Cramer. Taking office on May 1st. However, they will soon have to return to the election campaign. As the general elections for the Basel-Stadt cantonal council and the Grand Council are due to take place on October 20, 2024.

©Keystone/SDA