The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has announced candidacy plans for several districts in Western Turkey for the upcoming 31 March 2024 local elections. This announcement, made by the party’s spokeswoman Ayşegül Doğan, marks a significant expansion of the party’s electoral strategy, traditionally focused on Kurdish-majority areas.
Doğan, referencing the Turkish government’s practice of appointing trustees to the Kurdish-majority provinces, stressed her party’s intent to reclaim “forcibly taken” areas. She emphasised the importance of reconnecting with the municipalities subjected to government trustee appointment, asserting that the party will not only regain lost ground but also achieve new gains.
The party’s first phase of candidacy in the West includes districts in key cities such as Adana (Ceyhan, Seyhan, Yüreğir), Antalya (Kepez), Mersin (Central, Akdeniz, Toroslar, Tarsus), Istanbul (Esenyurt, Sancaktepe, Adalar, Sultanbeyli), Aydın (Central, Didim, Efeler, Germencik, Söke), Konya (Cihanbeyli, Kulu), Kocaeli (Dilovası), İzmir (Torbalı, Bayraklı, Menemen), Manisa (Gölmarmara, Turgutlu, Yunusemre), Çanakkale (Gökçeada), and Tekirdağ (Çorlu, Çerkezköy).
In addition, Doğan extended the party’s candidate application deadline to 25 December, highlighting efforts to facilitate wider participation in their democratic processes. She also emphasised the importance of local alliances, particularly in Kurdish regions, underlining the DEM Party’s stance as both an independent political entity and a unifying platform for those aligned with its vision of freedom and struggle.
In a strategic shift, DEM Party announced early December that it would independently field candidates in Turkey’s local elections, adopting an innovative urban consensus model for candidate selection.
