German politician Elif Eralp ran as the lead candidate for the party Die Linke in the 2026 election for the Berlin House of Representatives. Born in Munich to a family of Turkish descent, she passed her first state law examination in 2007 and her second (with distinction) in 2009. She joined Die Linke in 2017, motivated by the AfD’s entry into the Bundestag.
Tian Stöhr created portraits of politicians Elif Eralp and Yurtsever Özdemir for the 2026 election campaign of the German party Die Linke.
Elif Eralp was, among other things, a co-founder of the nationwide migrant network LINKS*KANAX. Since November 2021, she has served in the Berlin House of Representatives, representing the district of Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg. In 2024, she became deputy parliamentary group leader, and in May 2025, deputy state chair of the Berlin branch of Die Linke.
In October 2025, she was nominated as the lead candidate for the Berlin House of Representatives election scheduled for September 2026. Running a highly personalized campaign focused on rent policy and social justice, she led Die Linke to a historic victory—securing 25.7% of the party-list votes and emerging as the strongest political force in Berlin—thereby positioning herself as a top contender to become the Governing Mayor of Berlin.
She would be the first head of the Berlin city government from Die Linke since reunification in 1990. Furthermore, Elif Eralp would be the first person with a migrant background to hold the office of Governing Mayor of Berlin. At the federal level, she would be only the second member of Die Linke ever—following Bodo Ramelow in Thuringia—to lead a state government.
Die Linke is a democratic socialist political party in Germany, founded on June 16, 2007, through the merger of the East German-rooted PDS—the direct successor to the GDR’s ruling SED party—and the West German WASG. After a difficult period—including the breakaway of the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in late 2023—Die Linke is staging a political comeback in 2026.
The visuals were created in collaboration with the agency ZOFF.
Tian Stöhr is represented by the agency UPFRONT Photo & Film.
