Bülent Pekerman from the Green Liberal Party (GLP) has been elected president in Switzerland's Basel Canton. Pekerman received the votes of 87 parliamentarians out of 99. Pekerman replaced Jo Vergeat (GAB) as the newly elected president of the Grand Council in Basel Canton, where a Kurdish migrant was elected president for the first time.

The Kurdish politician is 45 years old and is a driving instructor. He has been on the Grand Council since 2021. He was a parliament member in the previous legislative session from 2009 to 2013. Pekerman has been a member of parliament in Basel for two years. He will serve as president for a year starting in February.

As expected, the Grand Council elected Pekerman to replace Jo Vergeat (The Greens) yesterday. Pekerman had been serving as governor for the past year. As a Kurd from Central Anatolia, he migrated to Switzerland at the age of 15. He will serve as president for a year.