 in western Turkey’s Manisa province, has died at the age of 37 after a prolonged battle with cancer, her party has announced.){kind=link}
Gülşah Durbay, a district mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in western Turkey’s Manisa province, has died at the age of 37 after a prolonged battle with cancer, her party has announced.
Durbay died on Sunday at Manisa City Hospital, where she had been in intensive care.
The mayor had been undergoing treatment for colon cancer for an extended period of time. Her condition worsened after her kidney and liver functions deteriorated, leading to her admission to intensive care earlier this month. She underwent surgery on December 5 and was put on a ventilator several days later as her condition further declined.
Genel Başkanımız Özgür Özel, hayatını kaybeden Manisa Şehzadeler Belediye Başkanımız Gülşah Durbay için Manisa Şehir Hastanesi ve Şehzadeler Belediyemiz önünde düzenlenen törene katıldı. pic.twitter.com/bFoRIPreGi
— CHP 🇹🇷 (@herkesicinCHP) December 15, 2025
Durbay made history in the March 2024 local elections by winning the Şehzadeler mayoralty with more than 38 percent of the vote, a significant increase from the roughly 15 percent the CHP had received in previous races in the district. Her victory made her the first elected female mayor of both Şehzadeler and Manisa province.
Born in Manisa in 1988, Durbay graduated from Hacettepe University’s department of food engineering in 2011 and earned a law degree from İzmir’s Yaşar University in 2024. She completed a master’s in business administration at Yaşar University and had begun doctoral studies in economics and finance at Manisa Celal Bayar University.
After working as a manager at international companies in the food sector and serving as a consultant for various firms, Durbay entered politics in 2014 as head of the CHP’s district youth branch. She went on to serve two terms as chair of the party’s provincial youth wing in Manisa from 2015 to 2020.
A memorial ceremony was held outside the Şehzadeler municipal building on Monday morning, where Durbay’s coffin was brought amid applause. The ceremony was attended by senior CHP officials, mayors from several cities and districts and thousands of locals.
Speaking at the ceremony, CHP leader Özgür Özel paid tribute to Durbay, recalling her determination and political legacy and expressing frustration over repeated losses the party has endured this year.
This is the second time this year when the CHP has lost a mayor.
In June, Manisa Mayor Ferdi Zeyrek, 48, died three days after being electrocuted while inspecting a malfunction in the pool equipment area at his residence in Manisa.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also expressed condolences for Durbay, saying he was saddened by her death and offering his sympathies to her family, loved ones and the people of Şehzadeler. Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş similarly expressed condolences, extending his sympathies to Durbay’s family, the CHP and the people of Manisa.
Funeral prayers were later held at Hatuniye Mosque, which would be followed by a burial ceremony in Manisa’s Koldere Cemetery.