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🇹🇷 Turkey /Elections & Politics

Türkiye’s DEM Party holds congress as it weighs a future overhaul

From Daily Sabah · () English

Translated from English and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • Türkiye’s DEM Party held a congress that party sources described as a technical requirement rather than the start of its expected major transformation.
  • The party’s future is being debated as the PKK dissolution process advances and its longstanding emphasis on “peace” with the group enters a new phase.
  • Party officials said a later congress could change its organization and political language, while current co-chairs are expected to remain in place.

The DEM Party held its congress in Ankara on Sunday, but the event was presented as a formality rather than the overhaul many expect. Party sources quoted by the media said the substantial transformation would come later.

strengthen the understanding of a democratic republic

· Ayşegül DoğanThe DEM Party spokesperson described the model the party plans to establish at a future congress.

The left-wing opposition party has built its identity around Kurdish rights and remains particularly strong in the predominantly Kurdish southeastern provinces. Its political argument has increasingly been tied to the PKK, however, and the party played a key role in the Terror-Free Türkiye initiative launched by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli to dissolve the organization.

The initiative has entered a new phase alongside a law providing for deferred sentences for PKK members who surrender. Abdullah Öcalan, the PKK’s jailed leader, has used messages delivered through DEM lawmakers to emphasize “democratic struggle” after the group’s dissolution. Some political commentators have gone further, suggesting that Öcalan could become the party’s “honorary” chair.

threshold where DEM will review its policies

· Tülay HatimoğullarıThe co-chair described the significance of Sunday’s congress and called for organizational and political changes.

DEM spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan told BBC Turkish that another congress would be held soon, where the party would undergo substantial change. She did not specify what the changes would be, but said the party planned to establish a model that would “strengthen the understanding of a democratic republic.” Co-chair Tülay Hatimoğulları told Sunday’s congress that it marked a threshold at which DEM would review its policies. She called for changes in the party’s organization and political language as social expectations and policymaking have changed.

democratic struggle

· Abdullah ÖcalanÖcalan used the phrase in messages delivered to the public through DEM lawmakers after the proposed PKK dissolution.

The party, which changed its name from the Green Left Party at its 2023 congress, is a continuation of parties including the Peoples’ Democratic Party. Critics have accused those parties of aligning closely with the PKK. DEM members have faced investigations, and the party drew criticism after organizing condolence events for PKK members killed years earlier in counterterrorism operations. Current co-chairs Tuncer Bakırhan and Hatimoğulları are expected to retain their positions at Sunday’s congress.

honorary

· Unnamed political commentatorsSome commentators speculated that Öcalan could become the party’s honorary chair.
About this summary

Originally published by Daily Sabah in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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