Tuncer Bakırhan, co-chair of the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party, said Tuesday that a court ruling targeting the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) and a police intervention at its headquarters threatened not only the CHP but all political parties and civil society in Turkey, Turkish Minute reported.
Speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting, Bakırhan criticized the legal process surrounding the CHP and said democratic politics cannot be shaped through court rulings.
“The mentality that breaks down one party’s door today will stand at the door of all politics tomorrow,” Bakırhan said. “The police who go to the CHP today could go to the AKP tomorrow, then to the MHP, DEVA Party or Future Party. They have already come for us.”
Bakırhan was referring to a recent appellate court ruling that declared the CHP’s 2023 party congress legally invalid, a decision that has fueled political tensions and raised questions about the future of Turkey’s largest opposition party.
The ruling annulled the congress in which Özgür Özel defeated former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and became party leader. It removed Özel and the current party administration from office as an interim measure and reinstated Kılıçdaroğlu and his team.
Bakırhan said the ruling went beyond an internal party dispute and posed a threat to political participation, civil society and democratic life in Turkey. He called on the Supreme Court of Appeals, Turkey’s top appeals court, to convene and overturn the decision.
Turkey is facing one of its most serious political crises along with a prolonged economic downturn, Bakırhan said, adding that judicial intervention against the CHP had deepened public distrust and raised concerns about the country’s ongoing peace initiative.
He also commented on internal debates within the CHP, warning against the use of stigmatizing language and accusations in political competition. Such rhetoric, he said, could pave the way for future political operations.
Bakırhan urged political actors not to allow domestic tensions to overshadow what the government calls the Peace and Democratic Society Process, saying democratic reforms and social reconciliation remain essential for Turkey’s future.
His remarks came amid debate over a peace initiative launched after imprisoned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan called on the group to dissolve and lay down its arms. The PKK announced its dissolution in May 2025, ending a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
Since then, the DEM Party has urged the government to support the process with legal and political reforms, including guarantees for democratic participation, expanded rights and an end to the appointment of government trustees to replace elected Kurdish mayors.
The party has repeatedly warned that political tensions and judicial interventions against opposition parties could undermine public confidence in the peace effort. DEM Party officials have also called for legislation to provide a legal framework for the process, arguing that lasting peace requires broader democratic reforms.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said the initiative will continue, while government officials have insisted that any political steps must follow the complete and verifiable giving up of arms of PKK members.
The PKK, which launched an armed insurgency against the Turkish state in 1984, is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people over four decades and has shaped Turkey’s domestic politics as well as its relations with neighboring countries.
Previous peace talks between Ankara and the PKK collapsed in 2015, leading to renewed violence in southeastern Turkey and cross-border military operations against PKK positions in northern Iraq and Syria.
