Pre-Election Study Tour for Turkish Women Politicians Concludes

The Pre-Election Study Tour Delegation at the TCA office with TCA President G. Lincoln McCurdy and team

The 2016 Pre-Election Study Tour to Washington, DC, sponsored by the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA) and organized by the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress (USAFMC), visited Washington, DC, October 19-October 22, 2016. The delegation, which was comprised entirely of Turkish women politicians, came to Washington to learn more about the U.S. election process including presidential, congressional, state, and local races as well as the potential impact of the upcoming U.S. election on the U.S.-Turkey relationship.

Ten Turkish women from all four major political parties in Turkey and from the Turkish non-profit KADER (The Association for Supporting and Training Women Candidates) participated in the delegation. Delegates included five Parliamentarians from the Grand National Assembly of Turkey: Selina Dogan (CHP), Gamze Akkus Ilgezdi (CHP), Arzu Erdem (MHP), Filiz Kerestecioglu (HDP), and Meral Daniş Bestas (HDP); in addition to Zeynep Jane Louise Kandur, member of the AKP’s Main Branch in Istanbul; Derya Taskin, President of the Turkish Institute for Progress (TIP); and three representatives from the non-profit organization KADER: Fatma Çigdem Aydin (Former KADER President), Sirin Mine Kilic (KADER Board Member), and Itir Bagdadi (Lecturer at Izmir University of Economics International Relations and the European Union Department).

The delegation attended several high-level meetings and briefings where they heard various perspectives on the U.S. election and discussed the future direction of U.S. policy domestically and abroad as well as the climate and mood in America. They met with several former members of Congress including Martin Frost (D-TX, 1979-2005), Cliff Stearns (R-FL, 1989-2013; President, USAFMC), Albert Wynn (D-MD, 1993-2008), and Dennis Hertel (D-MI, 1981-1993); as well as chiefs of staff from the offices of Reps. Alcee Hastings (D-FL/20^th), Jim Langevin (D-RI/2^nd), Susan Brooks (R-IN/5^th), Michael Burgess (R-TX/26^th), and Tom Cole (R-OK/4^th); journalists from Bloomberg, The Hill, and RealClearPolitics; Turkish Embassy officials; and think tank experts on U.S.-Turkey relations. They also attended a reception and dinner in honor of former member of Congress Ed Whitfield (R-KY, 1995-2016), a co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans, following his recent retirement from Congress. Finally, delegates toured the U.S. Capitol and visited Mount Vernon, the residence and burial place for the first president of the United States George Washington.


Chiefs of Staff brief members of the Pre-Election Study Tour Delegation at the U.S. Capitol		The Pre-Election Study Tour at Mount Vernon

Pre-Election Study Tour for Turkish Women Politicians Concludes

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