The Co-Presidency KCK Executive Council issued a statement on the aftermath of the local elections held on 31 March in Turkey and North Kurdistan.

The statement said that "a democratic atmosphere has emerged, and we consider the ongoing process to be crucial for Turkey’s revolutionary democratic forces, the Kurdish people as a whole, Turkish society, and the country’s developing political climate.

The municipal election process in Turkey altered the country’s political and social landscape while establishing the conditions for a resolution to the current problems. The political forces in Turkey were presented with a significant opportunity and possibility. As the Kurdish Freedom Movement, we declare that our own approach will be based on the utilization of this opportunity. In this regard, we deem it necessary to declare some of our thoughts and expectations."

The statement noted that "the elections took place in an anti-democratic environment. The state used all sorts of methods, manipulation, and fraud, especially in Kurdistan, to protect the interests of the government. In addition to this, soldiers, police officers, and paramilitary forces from all over the country were transported to Kurdish cities and towns to cast their votes for the AKP and MHP there, affecting the overall result. The state did not even try to conceal this. Like this, many cities and towns in Kurdistan were seized, and the will of the people was usurped. To add to this, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) attempted to seize the big cities won in Kurdistan and later also in Turkey. This happened, for example, in Wan. This was prevented by the initiative and resistance of the people and the solidarity of the democratic public in Turkey. Looking at the results of the elections, despite all the fraud, the alliance of the AKP, MHP, KDP, and Hizbulkontra could not get votes from the people in Kurdistan and could not win a single municipality. The municipalities which are under their control are municipalities which were usurped."

The statement underlined that "till this day, the AKP-MHP government has resorted to all kinds of dirty methods and tricks in Turkey. It spread racism, nationalism, sectarianism, sexism, and all kinds of reactionary practices through Kurdish enmity. As a result of this, Turkish society was also suppressed. Despite all of its attempts, the AKP suffered a great defeat. This shows how deep the AKP has fallen. Not only has it been wounded, it has turned into a political corpse.

Undoubtedly, the most significant outcome of the election is that the AKP, which ruled Turkey for 25 years and inflicted evil on society, has been decisively defeated. The legitimacy of the AKP and Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration has eroded after twenty-two years. While they had promised democracy and liberties upon coming to power, they pursued the opposite. They promised the Kurdish question would be resolved; they not only failed to accomplish this, but instead became more hostile toward the Kurds than their predecessors, leading Turkey toward catastrophe."

The statement continued: "Under the 22-year rule of the AKP and Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey has turned into a total wreck. Backwardness, immorality, lawlessness, and injustice have reached an extreme level. All the resources, treasures, and production of the country have been abused for the prosperity of a few individuals, while society has been driven into hunger, poverty, and misery. In order for society to consent to this situation, Kurdish enmity was fomented, and an intense special warfare was waged on society. The state and society have been ruled by special warfare. The very methods that the AKP government opted to in the elections show how degenerate it has become and that it has nothing to give to society and humanity. The fact that the AKP and Tayyip Erdoğan have seized power in this state and have done so much evil to society is the result of a mentality based on Kurdish enmity. Undoubtedly, the enmity against the Kurds is rooted in the enmity against the free morality of society, human values, freedom, and democracy. The municipal elections of March 31st put an end to this situation, limited the AKP’s influence, and demoted it to second party."

Even so, said the statement, "this is not the first time the AKP and Tayyip Erdoğan have suffered a blow during elections. In the general elections of June 7, 2015, the AKP also lost and fell from power. Facing the environment created, and the strategies developed by Rêber Apo [Abdullah Öcalan] for the development of democratic forces, the AKP and Tayyip Erdoğan lost power. The society of Turkey gave the democratic forces and the opposition, which came together under the umbrella of the HDP, the duty and responsibility to become partners in the administration of Turkey. However, Tayyip Erdoğan prevented this democratization process from further evolving by forming an alliance with the fascist and racist MHP and Devlet Bahçeli. Since the opposition and its democratic policies were found to be too superficial or weak, the government took advantage of this and staged a military coup. Since then, Turkey has been in the hands of a government that was formed through the coup. This process, which has to be explained in detail every time that it is mentioned, has caused great pain to everyone, caused loss of life, time, and energy, and cost the country and society dearly. Only now has this coup government been stopped. Now, the opportunity has arisen to conclude that which was left incomplete nine years ago."

The statement added: "The attitude of the Kurdish people and the struggle in Kurdistan was the determining factor in the defeat of fascism. The crucial role in this development was played by the Kurdish people in the struggle led by the freedom movement and the strategy it developed. From the beginning, the Kurdish people and the democratic forces have clearly and uninterruptedly stood, resisted, and fought against the coup of the fascist AKP-MHP. At the forefront of this resistance has always been Rêber Apo on Imrali Island prison. Also, the Kurdish freedom guerrilla resisted, thousands of our imprisoned comrades in Turkish prisons resisted, Kurdish women and youth resisted against the fascist oppression and their special warfare. The Kurdish people have put up great resistance not only in North Kurdistan but in all four parts of Kurdistan and in the diaspora. Under all circumstances, they protected their determination on freedom and did not let fascism pass in Kurdistan.

In these municipal elections, the Kurdish people have clearly demonstrated such an attitude, showing that they insist on a free life and the democratization of Turkey. They did not let fascism pass, and they left no room for discussion. It was this attitude and struggle of the Kurdish people, the democratic forces of Turkey, and the Kurdish freedom movement that led to the defeat of fascism. The Kurdish people’s stance for a free life and their insistence on the democratization of Turkey must be seen and understood. This is very important for a positive outcome to be achieved and for the process to proceed democratically. Undoubtedly, the Kurdish people waged this struggle together with the peoples of Turkey and their democratic forces. It was the strategy of co-existence and the resistance that developed on the basis of this strategy that led to the beginning of the end of fascism."

The statement underlined that "the success and the results achieved against fascism have increased the responsibility of the democratic forces in the country, which are the dynamic and subject of the struggle. The most fundamental task ahead of us is to organize and put the outcomes of the fight against fascism into practice, to integrate this with the people, and build Turkish democracy on the basis of Kurdish freedom. This is a task of the democratic forces and constitutes their historical duty. The democratic forces need to fulfill this task and play a leading role in their respective developments by living up to their historical responsibility. They need to be more united and wage a more intense anti-fascist and democratic struggle. The Kurdish people must always insist on their demands for freedom and the democratization of Turkey. At the same time, the democratic forces need to support and lead this struggle."

The KCK said that "another important result of the March 31 municipal elections is that, after fifty years, the CHP regained first-party status. The CHP has been tasked with leading Turkey by Turkish society. Thus, the CHP’s future mindset and strategy are crucial. The CHP is one of the main parties that needs to evaluate the election results correctly. It is clear that Turkish society expects the CHP to act responsibly. We see this situation and attach importance to it.

In terms of the right approach, first of all, the CHP must understand well how these election results came about and must recognize the role of the Kurdish people, the people of Turkey, and the revolutionary democratic movement of Turkey in the struggle against fascism. The basic need of Turkey and the basic expectation of Turkish society is democracy. As the party that founded the republic, the CHP is given another opportunity to democratize it. The CHP is supported by society in this regard. If the CHP wants to gain strength again, it must correctly seize this opportunity to redress the one it lost in 1973.

Turkish society supported the CHP in 1973 and confided in it the responsibility to play this crucial role. However, under the leadership of Bülent Ecevit, the CHP could not overcome its rigid nation-statism, nationalism and chauvinism. It failed to demonstrate the will to solve the Kurdish question. It did not develop a democratic program and did not take the necessary democratic steps. Because of this, it lost the support of society and lost a historical opportunity. Now society has given the CHP a second opportunity. If the CHP seizes this opportunity, works for the democratization of the republic, takes steps in this direction, and demonstrates this will, it will receive the necessary support from society and democratic forces. Society will see this and support the CHP. We would also support the steps taken towards democratization. However, if the CHP does not develop this attitude and does not take democratic steps, it will lose the support of society. It will fall into the same situation as the AKP. Society’s support for the AKP and expectations of it were to develop democratization. However, since it did not do this, it lost the support of society."

The KCK said that "in the 7 June 2015 elections, Turkish society clearly demonstrated this attitude. Since then, the AKP has remained in power entirely through coups. By not taking steps towards democratization and the solution to the Kurdish question, the AKP has brought Turkey to the brink of destruction and prepared its own end by developing racism, nationalism, fascism, and war. Now society in Turkey wants an end to this situation and wants a remedy. On March 31st, this attitude was clearly demonstrated. The CHP should see this as a historic opportunity, and in order to correctly put this opportunity to use and gain more support from society, it should come up with a democratic program without losing any time. It must put forward its plan and program to democratize the republic by taking democratic steps. The CHP ought to see that the source of all the problems is the failure of democracy in Turkey. Thus, it must show that it holds the power and will to put an end to this. For this, it must first of all focus on solving the Kurdish question, the most fundamental problem in the country. The republic cannot become democratic or emerge from its current crisis without the democratic solution to the Kurdish question, which is a byproduct of the republic’s inability to democratize.

If the CHP puts forward a democratization program and takes the necessary steps on these fundamental issues, it will receive the necessary support from society. With this support, it will have the chance to realize the democratization Turkey needs. Undoubtedly, democratization requires a lot of work and a lot of steps. However, this cannot be postponed forever. The will for this must be put forward as soon as possible, and fundamental steps must be taken. As the democratic forces of Kurdistan and Turkey, we will support every right step taken. This is our position on the  matter, which is based on the historical responsibility we feel towards Turkish society and the democratization of Turkey."