PKK’s influence on Kurdish Politics

The struggle led by Leader Abdullah Öcalan over 52 years opened a new chapter in Kurdish politics, one distinguished by the establishment of a firm and innovative political tradition.

Before the PKK, politics generally revolved around associations, families, religious figures, and feudal leaders. Political activity depended on local events and ended within those boundaries, relying more on circumstance than on analysis, definition, or preparedness.

In his Manifesto of Peace and Democratic Society, Leader Abdullah Ocalan describes the period preceding the PKK and categorizes it as:

“ Kurdish Traditional,  Transitional,  Inter-transitional phases.”

Many Kurdish movements and parties were founded in Northern Kurdistan (Bakur), Southeen Kurdistan (Bashur), Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat), and West Kurdistan (Rojava), as well as abroad. However, their political activities remained confined to specific regions and environments and did not spread throughout society.

The PKK pursued a new, multi-dimensional political approach—continuous, adaptable, and capable of renewal based on surrounding circumstances and developments—built on extensive research and analysis of Kurdish movements.

The Individual and the Political Community

PKK politics focused on the development of the individual in terms of understanding and awareness as an essential element. Through this work, a Kurdish personality emerged—confident, determined, and possessing strong will. A politically active society also emerged across all segments of the Kurdish people. As a result of severe attacks and multifaceted resistance, even the uneducated became politically engaged.

The PKK’s struggle and the formation of Kurdish society paved the way for a lasting, multi-layered political structure. Politics today—considered part of the solution—has become a guiding force across the four parts of Kurdistan and abroad, through parties, organizations, associations, and various institutions. The political trajectory in all parts of Kurdistan and beyond affirms this reality.

Northern Kurdistan

Leader Ocalan’s philosophy became deeply rooted in Northern Kurdistan beginning in the early 1990s, embodied through the first institutional political body established there.

On June 7, 1990, the People’s Labor Party (HEP) was founded. In the parliamentary elections of October 20, 1991, the party formed an alliance with the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP) and won 21 seats. From the very first day, HEP representatives distinguished themselves through their political stance.

HEP MP Leyla Zana took the parliamentary oath in both Kurdish and Turkish, and MP Hatip Dicle declared, “We take this oath under the pressure of the constitution.” This marked the beginning of a struggle that transformed Turkish politics.

The tradition that began with HEP continued despite arrests and attacks, under different names throughout the years:

ÖZEP – Party of Freedom and Equality (1992)

ÖZDEP – Party of Freedom and Democracy (1992)

DEP – Democracy Party (1993)

HADEP – People’s Democracy Party (1994)

DEHAP – Democratic People’s Party (1997)

Free Society Party / Özgür Parti (2003)

DTH – Democratic Society Movement (2005)

DTP – Democratic Society Party (2005)

BDP – Peace and Democracy Party (2008)

HDP – Peoples’ Democratic Party (2012)

YSP – Green Left Party (2012)

DBP – Democratic Regions Party (2014)

DEM Party – Equality and Peoples’ Democracy Party (2023)

In the 1995 parliamentary elections, the Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) received nearly 1.5 million votes, but failed to pass the 10% electoral threshold, and thus did not enter parliament.

In the 1999 municipal elections, HADEP won 37 municipalities, and the party received 1,482,000 votes in the parliamentary elections held that same year.

In the November 3, 2002 elections, the Democratic People’s Party (DEHAP) received 13.6% of the vote, but it did not enter parliament because it failed to surpass the 10% threshold.

In the municipal elections of March 28, 2004, DEHAP formed the “Democratic Power Alliance” together with socialist and leftist parties in Turkey. The alliance won 69 municipalities.

A New Beginning: The Co-Chair System

The Democratic Society Party (DTP) adopted the co-chair leadership system at its 2005 congress, becoming the first party in Turkey to implement it. Aysel Tuğluk and Ahmet Türk became its first co-chairs.

Kurdish political representatives ran as independent candidates in the 2007 elections, enabling 20 deputies to enter parliament.

Kurdish politicians again demonstrated their strength as independent candidates in the 2011 elections, which led to the election of 36 deputies.

Alliances with Other Parties

The politics based on the principles of freedom, democracy, and equality influenced Turkish society and paved the way for new alliances.

As a result, several leftist parties in Turkey—such as the Revolutionary Socialist Party (SDP), the Socialist Party of the Oppressed (ESP), the New Socialist Liberation Party (SYKP), the Greens Party, and the Left Future Party—merged under the umbrella of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).

In the 2014 presidential elections, the Democratic Revolutionary Alliance presented a candidate for the first time.

The HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, running as the alliance’s presidential candidate, received 3,958,048 votes.

Becoming a Recognized Negotiating Partner

Through a multifaceted struggle—despite attacks, massacres, and mass arrests—the movement reached a stage where the state regarded its leaders as legitimate interlocutors.

This power, emerging under the leadership of leader Abdullah Ocalan, led the state to treat it as a primary party in seeking a political solution.

From 2013 to July 2015, numerous meetings were held between the Turkish state and Abdullah Öcalan, with the HDP participating as an active party in the process.

In the June 7, 2015 parliamentary elections, the HDP won 12.13% of the vote and became the third-largest party in the country with 80 deputies.

The ruling AKP failed to form a government alone, and new elections were scheduled for November 1, 2015.

During this period, the AKP government obstructed the dialogue process with leader Ocalan and launched multiple attacks.

On July 20, 2015, a group of activists and democrats who intended to deliver toys to the children of Kobanê were targeted in a bombing in Pirsus (Suruç) in North Kurdistan, killing 33 people.

On October 10, 2015, suicide bombers attacked a peaceful demonstration organized by various Turkish civil and professional organizations in Ankara, killing 109 people—the deadliest attack in Turkey’s history.

Despite attacks and obstacles, the HDP won 10.76% of the vote in the November 1 elections, sending 59 deputies to parliament.

On November 4, 2016, the Turkish state arrested the HDP’s co-chairs Selahattin Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, along with MPs İdris Baluken, Sırrı Süreyya Önder, and eight other deputies.

Subsequently, the arrests and operations against HDP politicians expanded to all cities.

Despite all forms of violations, bans, and political pressure, the HDP won 11.7% of the vote in the 2018 elections, sending 67 deputies to parliament.

The Turkish state did not remain silent in the face of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)’s victory. On August 19, 2019, it seized the municipalities of Amed, Mêrdîn, and Wan, and on March 23, 2020, it took control of 34 other municipalities belonging to the HDP.

In the elections held on May 14, 2023, the Green Left Party entered the race as an umbrella for leftist and socialist parties, winning 61 parliamentary seats with 8.9% of the vote.

In the municipal elections held on March 31, 2024, the Kurdish political movement and the social democrats competed this time under the name Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which won 75 municipalities.

On October 1 of last year (2024), the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, called on leader Abdullah Ocalan to end the armed struggle and engage in politics within the parliament. Responding to this call, leader Ocalan issued a peace appeal on February 27 of this year, calling for the building of democracy and a democratic society. In response to this appeal, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) held its 12th congress between May 5–7, 2025, and decided to dissolve itself.

The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party played a major role in this process. It held numerous meetings with  leader Abdullah Ocalan and with state institutions and continues to do so, in addition to its participation in the “Committee for National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy”, which was formed in the Turkish parliament on August 5, 2025, at leaser Ocalan’s invitation.

Rojava – Syria

After leader Abdullah Ocalan moved to Rojava and Syria in 1979, a new political phase began. Although the Kurds in Rojava had established many political parties since 1956, it was the first time that politics was conducted in a manner that embraced all communities.

The experience and knowledge accumulated over decades led to the founding of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), which through its political and diplomatic efforts became a fundamental pillar of the July 19, 2012 Revolution.

With the revolution and the establishment of the Democratic Autonomous Administration in North and East Syria, many Kurdish, Arab, Syriac, and Armenian organizations and parties were created. All communities are represented in the Autonomous Administration through their organizations and political parties.

More details and political developments in Rojava and Syria will be presented in the section dedicated to this part of our dossier.

Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat)

Eastern Kurdistan (Rojhilat) is one of the regions most affected by the Kurdish liberation movement. Due to attacks and pressure from the Iranian regime, no political parties or organizations were able to form legally. Nevertheless, a political awareness emerged across the region, influencing Iranian politics. The struggle against the ideology of authority also had its impact, and the “Woman, Life, Freedom” uprising was a direct result of this.

On April 4, 2004, the Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) was established. Although the Iranian state classifies it as an illegal organization, it is today the most influential party in Eastern Kurdistan.

Southern Kurdistan – Iraq

Since the 1980s, the Kurdish liberation movement—through its struggle and policies—has held a prominent place in Southern Kurdistan (Başûr). This influence became visible in the establishment of political parties beginning in the 1990s.

On June 8, 1991, the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) was founded, but due to pressure from the authorities in Southern Kurdistan, it was forced to end its activities in 1992.

On March 5, 2002, the Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party (PÇDK) was established and continued its activities until 2014.

In its conference on October 17, 2014, the Kurdistan Democratic Solution Party (PÇDK) changed its name to the Society Freedom Movement. Although the Freedom Movement is not recognized as a political party under Iraqi law, it participated in the 2021 parliamentary elections within an alliance.

A New Chapter in Şengal

On August 3, 2014, ISIS attacked Şengal and committed a horrific massacre. Fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK - the guerrillas) rushed to aid the Yazidis and prevented an even larger genocide.

Alongside this historic resistance, the people of Şengal organized themselves politically, socially, and militarily, establishing their own institutions.

In June 2016, the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party (PADÊ) was founded, and Iraqi courts officially recognized it on April 30, 2017.

In December 2023, Iraq held provincial council elections in which PADÊ participated and won a seat in Mosul Province.

However, the Turkish state intervened against the will of the Yazidi community, and under its pressure, the Iraqi government banned the Yazidi Freedom and Democracy Party on August 1, 2024. Despite this, Şengal continues to preserve its will through its remaining institutions and organizations.

ANHA