Pócsmegyer, a town of around 2,800 people near the capital city of Budapest in Hungary, has elected Kriszta Mwajas as their new mayor in the municipal elections held on 9 June. Mwajas won an election as tight as it can be, beating the long-reigning incumbent Miklós Németh, in office since 2002, by just one vote.
What makes this mayoral race even more interesting is that
Mwajas, a woman of Kenyan origin, is the first person of colour elected as mayor in Hungarian history.
The newly elected mayor ran as an independent, backed by the civil organization Helyi Erők (Local Forces). Before her political career, she worked in the film industry, doing post-production work for projects.
Mayor-elect Mwajas talked to the Hungarian tabloid Blikk after her victory.
‘It was women who asked me why I wanted to run for mayor as a woman myself. And it never occurred to me why I shouldn’t, just like I don’t care that I’m a person of colour, and I didn’t get any comments about it either. It was not an issue. My father is of Kenyan origin, but I was born in Budapest. Since I was elected, I have been approached by journalists because of my skin colour, but I think it is quite normal to be curious about my origin. And I’ll tell you something else, not only am I a woman of colour, but I also have blue hair and tattoos,’ she told the paper.
She went on to talk about how she is planning on taking advantage of the natural attributes of her town, such as the vicinity of the Danube River and Lake Plage, to drive tourism.
She believes that small towns like hers need to look for ways to add revenue other than government subsidies.
According to the same article by Blikk, Pócsmegyer has a major problem with unpaved roads. Out of the 60 kilometres (37 miles) of public roads in the town, only three kilometres (1.86 miles) are paved, the rest of it is dirt roads. On this topic, Mwajas said:
‘There is a halt on public investments, the economy is in a difficult situation, money is scarce. However, I think that with a little research, with the help of the MP, it may be possible to move forward so we can create the kind of development that the municipality really needs.’
She also talked about the lack of need for party politics in a small community like hers. Instead, she wants to involve everyone in her leadership who has their expertise to offer to better the lives of those living in Pócsmegyer.
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