Turkey's Kurds reevaluate their political alliances as local elections approach (Yeni Şafak)

Ankara -

In light of the rapid political transformations taking place in Turkey, the Kurds are emerging as an important element in its societal fabric, occupying an important position that qualifies them to influence shaping the features of the country’s political future, especially with the approaching date of local elections.

Questions are increasing about the major role that the Kurds can play in determining the course of Turkish politics towards new horizons. They constitute between 15% and 18% of the total population, equivalent to 12.5 to 15 million people, and they are considered an important factor that requires focusing on building strategic alliances with them, which may require making some concessions when necessary.

Political alliances

The results of the 2019 local elections demonstrated the importance of Kurds' support for Ekrem Imamoglu in the city of Istanbul, where he won more than 54% of the votes compared to 45% for his competitor. Now, in light of the volatile political reality, the Kurds are reevaluating their political alliances with the Republican People's Party.

This re-evaluation comes against the backdrop of:

  • Unfulfilled promises by the Republican People's Party.

  •  The series of failures that the party suffered.

  • Internal cracks that emerged into the open within the party.

All these factors prompted the Kurds to think again about the feasibility of renewing the alliance with the "Republican People."

Selahattin Demirtas, the Kurdish leader and former head of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), who is serving a prison sentence on charges of "terrorist propaganda" - made statements that shed light on the communication vacuum between his party and the ruling Justice and Development Party.

Demirtas considered this vacuum a huge loss for both parties and for the Turkish political scene in general.

Supporters of the imprisoned leader of the Kurdish Peoples' Party, Selahattin Demirtas, in 2016 (Reuters)

Two candidates

The Popular Equality and Democracy Party, one of the most prominent pro-Kurdish parties, announced that it will run in the local elections with its candidates in Istanbul, Izmir, and the capital, Ankara.

This announcement came despite long informal talks that the party had held with the Republican People's Republic regarding an alliance that would support Imamoglu, who is seeking to run in the 2028 presidential elections, in his position.

According to experts, this situation may lead to the Republican People's Party losing an important part of the Kurdish voters' votes, which the party had made great efforts over the years to win.

This comes while ignoring many of the criticisms directed at him due to his alliances with parties that allegedly support the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

Murat Çebni (right) and Meral Danish, Equality and Democracy Party candidates for the mayor of Istanbul (BBC)

Fluctuations, alliances and challenges

Relations between the Turkish government and the Kurds have witnessed moments of rapprochement and divergence over the years. In 2019, the Kurds formed an alliance with the Republican People's Party during the local elections, which led to Imamoglu winning the mayorship of Istanbul.

This alliance was considered the beginning of a return to thinking about opening a door that had been closed by the Turkish president in 2015 with the entry of the “Peoples’ Democratic Party” into Parliament, achieving 12.12% of the votes, which was considered a restriction on the ruling party.

The People's Alliance in the 2023 parliamentary and presidential elections included the "Huda Bar" party, which represents the conservative Kurds, to enter parliament for the first time.

The meeting of Ibrahim Kalin (head of intelligence) with Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, who helped mediate talks with the PKK in the past, also raised speculation about a thaw in relations between the two sides, but a Kurdish official denied that the issue had occurred. No development.

In a political flirtation, Murat Kurum, the candidate of the People's Alliance, wore a keffiyeh, performed the Kurdish Dabke dance, and spoke in Kurdish during his meeting with a group of residents of Diyarbakir province in Istanbul.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces complex challenges in managing the balance of power within his alliance, especially with his right-wing nationalist ally, Devlet Bahçeli.

The risk of provoking Bahçeli's anger by reducing the pressure on the PKK may be very high, and any move in this direction may be in the interest of the Gayid Party, which takes a similarly strict stance on Kurdish issues.

Murat Kurum, People's Alliance candidate for the mayor of Istanbul (French)

Misplaced support

In his statements to local media, Ahmet Turk, candidate for the Popular Equality and Democracy Party for the municipality of Mardin, expressed his remorse regarding the support his party provided in the past to the Republican People’s Party.

Turk explained that despite the great efforts made by his party to support the Republican People’s candidate in the presidential elections in the south and southeast regions, and despite “we did not expect him to be able to solve the Kurdish problem,” he added, “Erdogan is the only one capable of solving the Kurdish problem if he wanted to, of course, because he is a leader.” by all mean of the word".

In the same context, political researcher at the SETA Center for Studies, Baki Lalioglu, while speaking to Al Jazeera Net, expected that the municipalities controlled by the "Popular Equality and Democracy" party would maintain their positions in the upcoming elections, even with slight fluctuations in voting rates.

He points out that the most prominent challenge lies in the controversial relations between these municipalities and the “Kurdistan Workers’ Party.” In the wake of the collapse of the peace process, there were clear indications that some “Equality and Democracy” municipalities had exploited municipal resources to support the “Kurdistan Workers’ Party” instead of allocating them to local services. This exposed many officials in these municipalities to legal accountability, and led to them being replaced by government employees.

A prominent Kurdish politician regrets their previous support for the CHP


📌 Ahmed Turk, the candidate of the Popular Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) for the municipality of Mardin, said that they had previously supported the Republican People’s Party, but the latter lacks a leadership personality.

📌He added that they mobilized great support in southern and southeastern Turkey for Kamal... pic.twitter.com/9sNKfaUKge

— TR99 (@TR99media) February 18, 2024

Diversity of Kurdish voters

Political researcher Lalioglu confirms that Kurdish voters are not a single homogeneous bloc as is usually assumed, but rather are divided into multiple groups that differ socially and culturally.

These differences become clearer when comparing the Kurds in the eastern and southeastern regions and their counterparts in major cities such as Istanbul.

Lalioglu points out that there is a big gap between Kurdish voters and "equality and democracy", which takes a position on the leftist socialist or leftist liberal approach.

This is due to the contradiction of this position with the traditional values ​​of a large portion of Kurdish voters, in addition to the party’s position on issues such as gay rights and the extreme left, which are very far from the social orientations of Kurdish voters. This contradiction deepens the rift between the party and its electoral base.

On the other hand, Lalioglu believes that the “Justice and Development Party” obtaining votes from the Kurds, especially in Istanbul and the eastern and southeastern regions, will strengthen its position as “the party of Turkey” and “a joint representative of the Turks and Kurds.”

In return, Kurdish voters hope that the Justice and Development Party will take steps toward launching a new peace process or continuing to promote democracy.

Source: Al Jazeera