“Our party will lead the struggle and building process of the new era with the Green Left Party by adhering to the essence and revolutionary nature of our paradigm and preserving its institutional identity,” read the statement of the HDP.
The decision of joining the Green Left Party was taken in the Party’s assembly meeting on Monday, where they also decided to hold the party’s extraordinary congress on August 27.
“The 4th Extraordinary Congress, which we will hold on August 27, 2023, will be a beginning where the experience and knowledge of HDP and the parties representing our tradition will be transferred to the Green Left Party,” continued the statement.
HDP participated in Turkey’s parliamentary elections in May under the umbrella of the Green Left party, to evade an ongoing party shutdown case at Turkey's constitutional court.
Party co-chair Mithat Sancar said ahead of Monday’s assembly meeting that they will be discussing the methods of transferring HDP’s experience to the Green Left in a way that “will maintain its institutional presence”.
On May 14, Turkey conducted parliamentary and presidential elections wherein the HDP lost six seats as compared to the 2018 polls. The party managed to secure 61 out of the 600 seats in the legislature. Criticism was directed towards the party for endorsing opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu in the presidential election and not running a purely pro-Kurdish campaign. Following their poor performance in the election, the party opted to hold a congress.
It is still uncertain whether HDP will disband or continue to operate on a much smaller level.
In June, Sancar and Pervin Buldan, the co-chairs of the party, announced stepping down from the top position at the party's next congress during a live broadcast. Buldan cited the weak election campaign and lack of diversity among their candidates as the main reasons for losing votes.
The HDP's loss of votes in the election caused criticism within the party. Many voices called for Buldan and Sancar to be held accountable and resign from their positions.
