Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Green Left Party says open to talks with all parties

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Green Left Party is open for talks with everyone, including the ruling parties, ahead of local elections in 2024, a parliamentarian told Rudaw on Sunday. 

“When we say our doors are open, it includes the ruling parties too. We don’t say that our doors are open only for opposition parties,” Mehmet Kamac, Green Left Party’s member in the Kurdish parliament told Rudaw’s Sima Abkhezr, adding that the open door policy goes beyond the 2024 local elections and will be a reflection of the party’s new overall policy direction.

The Green Left Party is set to hold its congress on October 15. According to Kamac, changing the party’s name and electing new co-chairs, as well as deciding on a new policy direction for the party, are all elements of the congress agenda.

Kamac noted that politics in Turkey requires alliances, and expressed the hope for a greater Kurdish alliance for the 2024 domestic elections.

The Green Left Party participated in Turkey’s 2023 presidential and parliamentary election in May as an umbrella party for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which was facing a party closure case in the Turkish Supreme Constitutional Court. The party entered the elections as part of the Labor and Freedoms alliance with several other Kurdish and leftist Turkish parties, and famously endorsed opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu for the presidential race. The endorsement of Kilicdaroglu drew the ire of party supporters who wanted the party to conduct a purely pro-Kurdish campaign.

The Green Left parliamentarian stressed that the party’s central goal is the protection of Kurdish rights, and what their open door policy signals is a willingness to discuss this and more points with other parties, in view of reaching a common understanding.  “If we reach an agreement, we might support each other,” he said.

Kamac confirmed that the Green Left Party has not yet held talks with any other party regarding the upcoming elections, including the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

In May’s elections, the Green Left Party managed to secure 61 out of 600 seats in the legislature, six seats less compared to HDP in the 2018 elections. Following the poor performance, the party opted to hold a congress.

In June, Mithat Sancar and Pervin Buldan, former co-chairs of the HDP 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.