Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party announced the final declaration of the Interim Meeting of the Democratic Local Governments Board. DEM Party attributed the meeting held on 25-26 May with the slogan “Democratic society with democratic local governments” to Sirri Sureyya Onder, member of the İmralı Delegation, who lost his life on 3 May. In the declaration, it was noted that during the two-day discussions, the political process and the local government activities of the past one year were evaluated and suggestions on the line of struggle for the next period emerged first. 

 

The following statements were included in the final declaration: “In the elections of 31 March 2024, the people of Turkey went to the polls and the will of the people was once again manifested in the ballot boxes. Today, everyone who is in the position of representing the political institution is expected to respect this declaration of will. Especially in the last decade of Turkey, the more centralised form of government has deepened the crises. From the first day to the present day, we have insisted on the development of local democracy against the monist approach to governance and we will continue to do so.

 

WE WILL DEFEND THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE

 

The 31 March 2024 elections meant the end of 8 years of kayyum (trustee) practices and the transfer of municipalities to the people’s administration once again. The fact that our party won the presidency of 78 municipalities on the basis of the co-chair system was the result of the will determination of the peoples. Our party gained representation not only in co-chairship, but also in hundreds of munisipalities and provincial general assemblies. This determination of the peoples at the ballot boxes meant a responsibility for us. It was our priority that the municipalities, which had been separated from the people for years by barriers and fences, should once again become municipalities of the people. While our main priority was to bring the municipalities together with the people, the priority of the government was once again the quest and endeavour to usurp the people’s municipalities. The seizure of 10 municipalities of our party since the elections and the application of trusteeship was actually a manifestation of the political blockage experienced by the government. The lack of a sufficient level of public opinion and reaction on the part of the peoples of Turkey has paved the way for the trustee practices to spread to the west of Turkey. As DEM Party, we will continue to stand against all antidemocratic practices wherever, whenever and to whomever they are carried out. We will not back down even one step from defending the will of the people under any circumstances. We promise the people that we will continue our struggle with this consciousness and awareness.

 

WE WILL SOCIALISE THE CO-PRESIDENCY SYSTEM!

 

Every system based on monism is male-dominated by nature. A male-dominated system also centralises itself. This situation is the opposite of the radical democracy understanding that our party defends. In order to create a culture of democratic governance, we advocate the equal participation of women and men at all levels of government. With this understanding, our parties, whose traditions we have inherited, have adopted the co-chair system in all levels of administration since 2005. The co-chair system has been targeted both by the male-dominated power mentality and by special warfare tools since the day it was introduced. Despite all kinds of targeting efforts, we have not and will not stop even one step back from defending the co-presidency system. We will stand against all kinds of attacks against the co-presidency system, which the women's liberation struggle has turned into a gain as a result of its long-lasting resistance, and we will be the pioneer of socialising the co-presidency system. We will take as a basis to implement a co-presidency system that includes women, men, young people, labourers, disabled people; in short, all segments of society in the administration and in doing so, we will take the nature-society relationship as a basis. We will adhere to the principle of equal representation and will not compromise our purple line!

 

THE LEGACY OF SOCIALIST MUNICIPALISM WILL BE ENLARGED

 

Starting in 1979 with 3 municipalities, the experience of socialist municipalism has grown exponentially in 1999 with the parties whose tradition we represent, and has reached the point of exceeding a hundred municipalities. Each period has accumulated experience within itself and transferred it to today. Today, our duty is to preserve and grow the experience accumulated during the past periods. Our party has developed a democratic, ecological and women's libertarian municipalism understanding that puts the people at the centre, in contrast to these understandings that cannot respond to the peoples with classical system municipalism. We will expand municipal work in all areas such as women, youth, mother tongue, culture, health, disability, children, ecology, education and we will be in a production process centred on the demands and expectations of the people. We will carry out our work with a style that creates its own alternative against all kinds of dual and discriminatory attitudes towards the municipalities of our party. In every field we are in, we will endeavour on the basis of the benefit of the people without stopping and pausing. As DEM Party, we will continue our work in line with the legacy of socialist municipalism we have inherited. We will be based on a transparent, participatory and populist municipalism that is sensitive to social needs. We will reveal exemplary municipal models together with the people.

 

WE WILL REACH DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY

 

In the evolution of the second century of the Republic into a more democratic form than the first century, every segment of society, from the government to the opposition, has a great responsibility. The codes of the first century, based on monism, have caused suffering and destruction to the peoples throughout every period. In order to put an end to the suffering and destruction, on 27 February, Mr. Abdullah Öcalan assumed a historic responsibility and made the call of the century. With this call, Turkey is provided with the possibility of a new transformation on the basis of the democratic nation paradigm. The democratic nation paradigm is the guarantee for the equal, free and coexistence of Turkey's multi-identity, multi-lingual and multi-faith social structure. In response to this historic responsibility assumed by Mr Öcalan, Turkey's democratisation process must be brought to a rapid conclusion. The actors who will bring it to a conclusion are the state and the government.

 

For a more democratic Turkey, we also see the creation of more democratic local governments as important. In this context;

 

 

* The withdrawal of trustees from all municipalities where trustees have been appointed and the reinstatement of elected officials,

 

* Regulation of the relevant articles of the Law No. 5393 on Municipalities, which enables the appointment of trustees, and the end of trustee appointments,

 

* The definition of co-chairship in the Law on Political Parties should also be defined in the Law on Municipalities,

 

* The elimination of the administrative and financial tutelage of the central administration over local administrations,

 

* Legal guarantee of democratic organisation areas such as neighbourhood assemblies, city councils, village communes, where the people are directly involved in decision-making processes by overcoming representative democracy,

 

* To review the articles in the laws on municipalities and special provincial administrations that restrict the authority of these institutions and to regulate them within the framework of the principle of local democracy,

 

* We resolutely demand the removal of Turkey's reservations to the European Charter of Local Self-Government.

 

The basic condition for achieving peace and a democratic society is for the peoples to live a free and equal life. Therefore, a democratic Turkey based on justice, equality and the will of the people is our goal. We see one way to achieve this goal as the fulfilment of the minimum democratic demands listed above. Once again, we express our commitment to the paradigm of common life put forward by Mr Abdullah Öcalan. We reiterate that we will fulfil all our responsibilities in the socialisation of this paradigm.  With the memory of every life we have lost, we will continue to struggle until we envelop these lands with eternal peace. We will reach 'Democratic Society with Democratic Local Governments' on the axis of pluralism and on the basis of a culture of common life."