A new picture emerged in Turkey and Kurdistan after the March 31 elections in which local administrators were determined. The ruling bloc led by the AKP suffered a great defeat in the elections. AKP and its junior partner MHP lost many municipalities. CHP became the leading party for the first time in many years. The main winners of the election were the People's Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which defends the Third Way line. DEM Party won 78 municipalities despite all the pressure and the votes of the military and police.

 

AKP Chair and President Tayyip Erdogan accepted the defeat on the election night with the statement, "We did not get the result we hoped for." One of the most striking points in Erdogan's speech was the statements that attacks on Kurdish gains will continue.

 

CHP Chair Ozgur Ozel said, "The voters decided to establish a new politics in Turkey. Today, the voters decided to change the 22-year-old picture of Turkey and open the door to a new political climate." 

 

On the election night, the DEM Party made a statement, "Those who tried to make the Kurds lose, lost the country."

 

The statements made by the ruling authorities after the election indicate that current policies will continue. The statements of the ruling authorities indicate that policies that deepen the Kurdish issue and obstruct the democratization of the country will continue. However, it is stated that the attitude of the opposition led by CHP and the DEM Party, which stands on the Third Way line, will be decisive in whether these policies will yield results.

 

Tuncer Bakırhan, Co-Chair of DEM Party, one of the winners of the election, evaluated the election results for the first time to Mezopotamya Agency (MA).

 

A new political picture emerged in the local elections of March 31, 2024. In summary, what message did the election results convey to whom and to which understanding?

 

The election results opened a new door. An accounting process has begun for all political parties participating in the elections. Let's be frank; Among the parties that participated in the elections, one of the successful parties is our party, DEM Party. We see that there is a decrease in both quantity and quality in the parties other than that. The ruling bloc in particular lost big; It is necessary to ask why this difference occurred between the results of the previous general and presidential elections and the local elections held 10 months later. First, the government does not govern well. There is a serious economic crisis, escalating poverty, and the problem of democracy and freedoms. Secondly, it does not follow a consistent policy in foreign policy. Thirdly, after switching to the 'Turkish Type Presidential System', which is a one-man system, Turkey failed in every field. Most importantly, the insistence that there is no Kurdish issue triggered crises and created a legitimacy problem for the government. With the crises, we have been dragged into a dead end, struggling with serious problems not only in the economy but in every field. Therefore, the people made a different choice than the choices they made 10 months ago. They said "enough" to ruling party for 22 years in power . The ruling party became the second party for the first time.

 

If we evaluate it from our perspective; There were violations in all the elections we had, but this time there was a more special situation. For the first time, the government moved illegal voters to 32 settlements. It made a special effort to take over 32 settlements through engineering work and to steal the will of those cities. Despite all this, we recaptured many of these cities. Some cities were lost to us largely due to voter displacement. But we do not consider these as losses.

 

Which places are these?

 

More than half of the voters in Şırnak were soldiers, police and law enforcement officers coming from outside. Despite this, they took it from us by a narrow margin. When you subtract the number of illegal voters in Kars, you will see that we increased our votes and won the municipality. They blatantly annulled between 2,500 and 2,800 votes cast for our party in Bitlis. Our objections regarding this were also rejected. This was the situation in many towns and districts. Despite all this, it lost power. It lost not only in Kurdistan but also in Turkey. This has revealed a new door, a new hope, a new path and a new ground for struggle in Turkey. In the light of this new picture that has emerged, we will work harder and be on the field more in the coming period. We will launch a serious organizational mobilization. In short, its approach to the Kurdish issue and its trusteeist approach made the government lose.

 

Images of 'carrying voters' were frequently brought up on election day. It was even said that this situation brought about an increase in the number of voters going to the ballot box. What was your observation?

 

Images of people brought to the city by planes and buses and voting en masse caused discomfort in the public. These images were partly what caused the government to lose power in the metropolises.

 

Two separate elections were held in Kurdistan, between the state and the DEM Party, based on the law of hostility, and in Turkey, based on competition between political parties. However, the number of people going to the polls in both Kurdistan and Turkey dropped significantly. This situation needs to be analyzed seriously. Between the general and local elections, almost everywhere in Turkey, between 7 percent and 13 percent of voters did not go to the ballot box. The other situation was that people who were brought to the city by planes and bus convoys and looked strangely at people wearing shawls and scarves came and voted en masse. This situation disturbed the Kurds. After those images, the people united against injustice and went to the ballot boxes. Many people in metropolises changed their preferences. Our people said, 'This party that played this game on us and tried to make us lose openly should not win.'

 

Your party entered the elections with the 'Third Way' strategy. Moreover, you have often emphasized that you do not have a policy of 'making someone lose or making someone win'. Considering the current results, can we say that the strategy followed by your party is successful?

 

The winner of this period was the Third Way. Third Way; It was to reveal the preferences of the people, the workers and the poor, without joining either bloc. So we did that. We nominated candidates democratically with the participation of the widest circles in Kurdistan. We determined our candidates with the Urban Consensus in the West. We have determined our candidates in a context that is not limited to political parties only, but also includes all social circles - women, ecologists, young people - that is, beyond political parties. It was won in almost all of the places entered with the City Consensus. Therefore, we chose a path that neither causes losses alone nor only considers its own gain... We acted with a logic that also cares about the gain of Turkey's democracy. For this, the Third Way was successful. In this way, we did not only win in Kurdistan, but in many municipalities in many parts of Turkey with the Urban Consensus model, the will of the people and others was carried to the municipalities. 

 

In the first stage, some criticisms were directed to your party's Urban Consensus strategy by both the opposition and the government. What was the reason for this?

 

Urban Consensus may not have been liked by both political parties. In the previous elections, CHP may have wanted unconditional Kurdish voters to go to the elections with an anti-AKP strategy. As you know, the strategy of making AKP lose in the previous election was implemented. However, here, instead of winning and losing, we fought for the gains of our people and for their will to be reflected in the government wherever they live, and we won. The will of the people we represent was reflected in the administrations, and they were disturbed by this.

 

We have once again proven that we have the capacity to determine and change the results in these elections. Our people acted in accordance with our party's strategy. It both won and reflected its will on the administrations. DEM Party Turkey's courage for change is the insistence of a democratic and free country.

 

AKP was hoping that we would enter the elections with our own candidates everywhere, especially in the metropolises, to divide the votes and thus win the elections. Like the previous election, CHP may have followed an anti-AKP policy and wanted us to vote for ourselves in Kurdistan and for candidates opposing the AKP in other places. We did neither. We won ourselves. We ensured that the will of our people was reflected in the administrations wherever our party was present. This is very valuable. To those who think that we are not decisive in the May 14 elections, we have once again proven that we have the capacity, power and organization to determine the results in this local election, change the results, change the administration and come to power. Therefore, our people acted in accordance with the strategy implemented by our party. DEM Party not only won, but also reflected its will to the governments in many parts of Turkey.

 

After the election, there was a new 'trustee' initiative. Wan did not want to give the co-chairs a certificate of election. Why did the government step back here?

 

In Van, cliques within both the judiciary and the bureaucracy engaged in extortion. This work was done months ago. Our candidate (Abdullah Zeydan) has received his legal rights, and although it was announced by the YSK that he could be a candidate, two days before the election, five minutes before 17:00, the decision was made that 'He is not eligible to be a candidate'. It is not possible to remain silent in the face of such injustice.

 

I don't know if they will continue with this format. Because the dissolution has begun, they are dissolving. The reason for their dissolution is their attitude towards the deep-rooted problems of the country, especially the Kurdish issue. We said it from the very beginning; The one who doesn't solve is solved. There is a saying; “Do not say that what exists does not exist. Who calls what exists non-existent will disappear." We experienced a concrete example of this statement in the context of the Kurdish issue on March 31. Therefore, power relations will change. A debate process began within the AKP, with its dimensions reflected outside. Maybe they will increase the dosage of their oppression policies with their lack of solution and insistence on their mistakes, but it does not work; The solution comes through dialogue and negotiation. It is possible based on will. I think the AKP is also at a crossroads.

 

 

Maybe these elections may change the AKP's approaches a little, but there is a 22-year old memorization. There are balances of power that have been established for 22 years. There is the State Alliance, there is the Ergenekon Alliance, there is the MHP, there is the JITEM alliances... But if they want to continue like this, the Kurds, the people and the workers will resist. They do not give up. They put forth all their efforts to make the government lose.

 

As DEM Party, we are ready to face a harsher process, we are also ready for dialogue and negotiation. The struggle-negotiation dialectic is the yeast of the DEM Party. We would like to state once again that we are ready to fulfill all our responsibilities for solving the issues in Turkey, especially the Kurdish issue, through negotiation.

 

Are you saying this regardless of party?

 

As DEM Party, we can never say that it can happen with this person or that party, but not with those people or party. This approach is contrary to dialectics. Our effort is to solve the issue, not to first create our interlocutor and then solve the issue. Whoever comes for a solution is welcome, let's sit down, talk and solve it. Let's solve it by including the people of Turkey. Therefore, we do not know what the AKP will do tomorrow, but we take the necessary steps by looking at the sincerity, strategy, program and plan of the other party's approach to the issue. We are open, we are ready. We exist. But the others must be sincere.

 

After the election, the new constitution was brought to the agenda again. It has been on the agenda many times before, but no conclusion was reached. What should be done first for the new constitution?

 

Let its clean the road. Here comes the Kobanê Case. Our co-chairs, mayors and deputies have been held in prison for years with a tweet. They should at least accept that the trustee mentality is a terrible method that means ignoring people. Prisons are full of political prisoners. Turkey's budget is largely used to suppress the democratic rights of Kurds. Let's see an effort, let's see sincerity, we won't hesitate either.

 

CHP opposed the election coup in Wan. It also appointed a delegation to monitor the Kobanê Case. Can we interpret this as 'There has been a policy change in the CHP regarding the Kurdish issue'? Or can it be said that preliminary data for this has emerged?

 

It is too early to say that preliminary data has emerged. What I said about AKP is also valid for CHP. For now, we are not in a position to test whether CHP has moved away from those founding codes yet. Yes, some of the statements made by CHP officials and Mr. Ozgur Ozel regarding the Kobanê Case, solidarity in Van, and trustees are valuable. But as a whole, it is not at a level that would make one say 'CHP wants' the Kurdish issue to be resolved through negotiation and dialogue. CHP also has great duties and responsibilities in the coming period. Being sincere about these issues, approaching the Kurds sincerely, and showing a truly democratic will and responsibility in solving this issue will not make the CHP lose, it will make it gain.

 

Demonstrating a democratic will in solving the Kurdish issue will not cause CHP to lose. A great opportunity has arisen for CHP. With the right approach, it can play an important role in Turkey's democratic future.

 

If the CHP, with an opportunistic approach, falls into the misconception that 'AKP is applying pressure and the Kurds are making other choices in the face of these pressure policies', they will lose. A great opportunity has arisen for CHP. It has the opportunity to contribute to the resolution of the Kurdish issue, which has not been resolved for a hundred years, through dialogue and negotiation in the second century. With a sincere and correct approach, CHP can really play an important role in Turkey's democratic future and undertake this mission. In the coming period, we will see whether this is an approach limited to winning elections or a policy change. We are not enemies of anyone. But we are not a power that supports anyone with unlimited credit and without questions. We come side by side and talk to every political party that tells the truth, does the right thing, contributes to Turkish democracy, wants to contribute to Turkey's democracy, and has a policy and program on this issue - not only in the elections. We will do our best to find a solution.

 

If we evaluate the elections from the perspective of the revolutionary left-socialist forces in Turkey; In the last general elections, some debates developed over the Labor and Freedom Alliance. Is there a restructuring or a different formation within the People's Democratic Congress (HDK) in the coming period?

 

 

Election processes also created the opportunity for serious accounting. It created an accounting opportunity not only for the DEM Party, the ruling party or the main opposition party, but also for left socialist circles. We do this accounting from our own perspective. In the coming period, as DEM Party, we are making a program and a plan to meet with the poor, working people of Turkey, especially in the metropolises, faith groups, those sentenced to minimum wage, and retirees who cannot make ends meet.

 

The possibility of a new election is mentioned. Do you think there will be a new election soon?

 

We had a new election. The government became the second party. Our situation is also strong, this situation was also revealed in the election results. Although we did not participate in the elections in many parts of Turkey, we received the highest number of votes we have ever received in local elections. The debates about whether there will be early elections for the next term or not are very fresh. Is there a need for this or what will we demand in this regard? The process will show it and we will discuss it with our boards.

 

Service expectations are high in the places you won after the local elections. What kind of municipalism approach will you put forward?

 

 

Our previous experiences are valuable. It was a municipality that not only provided municipal services, but also showed solidarity with every problem experienced by the people. This will continue this term, but our municipalities will do more municipal work this term. Politicians will make politics. Municipalities always have a relationship with politics, but everyone will do their own job. Rest assured, in the coming days, we will run the municipality from a place that is more disciplined and solves the problems of the people who focus on municipal affairs. We made a promise to the people. Our friends elected with their valuable votes will do their best. If there is a bad municipal practice, the public does not have to wait 5 years. The people also have the right to elect whomever they choose before the election comes. There is also the right to criticize. Of course, we will do these by strengthening them.

 

We are determined; We do not allow any approach that does not contribute to our people, democracy, is not an example and a model, and does not please the people. We lose the municipality, but we do not lose our people. That's why I'm calling on our very valuable and valuable young and qualified co-mayor friends; This period is a very different period. It is time to heal the wounds of the trustees, to receive the support and approval of the people, to be with the people, to please the people, to be a model, to serve, to reveal our difference from other political party municipalities, and to implement an understanding that includes those who did not vote for us and receives their approval and support. We paid a high price for those positions. Our friends are inside. It is the day to be worthy of the municipal practices and past of Gultan Kışanak and Leyla Guven. There is no 'We came and stay for 5 years'. It didn't happen in the past, but it won't happen now. As the headquarters, even in case of the slightest deficiency; We made a promise to our people. We will do what is necessary.

 

Road, water, infrastructure, superstructure... we can list many problems, but the most important issue is the migration of young people. Based on the connection between immigration and assimilation; What kind of policy will you follow regarding young people?

 

Kurdistan's youth, sociology and nature have been largely destroyed in every sense. The state turned it into a laboratory and tried to poison it. One of these is youth. Of course, our municipality does not have the opportunity to completely eliminate poverty and unemployment there. But we will create cultural-artistic activities, vocational courses, and opportunities to contribute to the family economy for young people to live in that city. We cannot produce services just by being satisfied with existing resources. We must also create resources. The greatest resource is the public's contribution and participation. These are the services and works done with them. We must solve the problem that the municipality cannot solve with the support and contribution of 150 thousand people in Siirt. It is necessary to convince the public and gain their trust.

 

It is necessary to convince the people that the work they offer is beneficial to that city and that it will make things easier. We are starting over with a new municipality approach. You will see that our municipalities will be the solution address for the problems experienced by workers, the poor, those who cannot bring milk to their children, those who cannot bring food, those who cannot pay their water bills. We are assertive about this. We have a history of municipalism, and we will draw strength from it. I'm sure our friends will do their best.

 

Policies aimed at children are also important. According to TUIK data, while the child rate in Turkey is 26 percent; In Kurdistan, this rate is close to 50 percent. We are curious about your projects regarding children in Kurdistan?

 

Young people, children and women constitute the groups in which we will primarily produce projects. We were providing municipal services in 3 languages. It is necessary to continue with an approach that serves multilingualism, multiculturalism and multi-identity. We must make every effort to ensure that children learn their mother language. We learned it later (mother language). But there are conditions for this; We have municipalities, metropolitan municipalities, cities. No one can say, "Why are you teaching?" on this subject. Our municipalities will make an effort to teach the mother language. We will support children who cannot receive education due to poverty. We will provide conditions that will enable children to participate in cultural, artistic and sports activities. We fully support women's demands for gender equality in domestic and business life, as we have expressed at every opportunity. However, unfortunately, Turkey ranks first in the world in terms of women's poverty. Since it is a more chronic problem in Kurdistan, I can say that our municipalities will produce projects by pushing all conditions on this issue.

 

Will you have a central project unit for municipalities?

 

We will create project units from the smallest town to big cities. There is no memorized work. We know that these problems cannot be solved by 'I opened a canal' or 'I built a sidewalk'. There are hundred-year-old wounds in Kurdistan. There is lack of service. In other words, there should be more qualified, more knowledgeable and more productive studies. We will show the world what socialist municipalism is, with the contribution and participation of the municipality's resources and the dynamics of the city. We call it local production with on-site management.

 

 

MA / Selman Güzelyüz - Fırat Can Arslan