Local elections: The first party did not came out as the winner
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The fascist dictatorship again forced people to elect a certain candidate, registered soldiers and police men on the election lists in Kurdistan, applied terror and detention attacks on the electoral campaigns of the left and the national Kurdish movement and realised other forms of manipulation. These and its democratic show were quite often practiced.

01 April 2009 /International Bulletin / Issue: 80

 

On March 29, local elections took place in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. The fascist dictatorship again forced people to elect a certain candidate, registered soldiers and police men on the election lists in Kurdistan, applied terror and detention attacks on the electoral campaigns of the left and the national Kurdish movement and realised other forms of manipulation. These and its democratic show were quite often practiced.
Concerning the results, the ruling AKP still ranks first, however, it lost votes for the first time since it became the government in 2002. Getting 38, 8% of the votes in total at the local elections in the country, the AKP lost three points compared to the local elections in 2004 and eight points over the 2007 parliamentary elections. The AKP lost 12 mayoral seats and has now 46 left.
The other bourgeois regime parties profited from the AKP loosing votes and the wish for change of the people. With 23, 1%, the CHP became the second party and won mayoral seats in 13 towns. The fascist MHP succeeded in winning the seats for mayors in 9 towns and 16 % of the votes.
However, not only the regime parties, but first of all the national Kurdish movement increased its posts as a result of these elections. With 5.6% of the votes, the DTP became the fourth in the whole country and increased its number of mayors of towns from 5 to 8. It also increased its votes considerably in Kurdistan and is undoubtedly one of the main winners of these elections. In total, the DTP won 99 local authorities. Before, it had only 36 places.
Using any means from naked violence to presents like washing machines and fridges or the launch of a Kurdish TV channel, the AKP tried to win a post in Kurdistan, especially in Amed and Dersim, but in vain. The DTP has beaten all records; the mayor of Amed, Osman Baydemir, was re-elected with 65, 43%, which is more than twice of the AKP's votes. In Dersim, too, it was the DTP definitely winning the election. The votes for the DTP reached up to 79% in Hakkari and to 90% in Yuksekova. The DTP was the party with the highest number of female candidates; 14 women were elected as mayors and provincial mayors.
Looking at the map, the CHP is mainly represented at the coast, the MHP forms a second ring with much more gaps and the AKP fills the inner part of the country. The DTP is represented in Kurdistan.
In Istanbul, the candidate of the AKP, Kadir Topbas, won the mayor elections with 44, 33% of the votes after a bitter fight against the candidate of the CHP. In Ankara, the situation was similar.
The candidate of the united platform "We will succeed together", formed by 23 revolutionary and democratic organisations and parties including the ESP and DTP, got the fifth place receiving 4,6% of the votes in Istanbul. Tuncer Bakirhan, candidate of the same platform in the district Esenyurt in Istanbul, reached the highest proportion that the candidates of the platform have reached; he got 14.7% of the votes. In Bahcelievler, another district of Istanbul, Ayse Yumli Yeter, general chairwoman of the union Tekstil-Sen candidating for the same platform, got 17.670 votes, which means being the third biggest force in the district with 5,75% of the votes.
During the elections 7 people lost their lives in clashes occurring in different regions and 97 people were injured. Furthermore, 915 have been detained when they went to the ballots in order to vote. Among them there was also Yagiz Önel of the SGD in Ankara.


What are the main conclusions from these local elections?
First of all, it was not only the AKP but the whole policy of denial and annihilation of the regime against the Kurdish people that has lost once again in this elections and this will deepen the existing regime crisis. In spite of being a local election, the Kurdish people have clearly expressed its political will at the ballots and thus shown that the AKP is as unsuccessful as all the other bourgeois parties in "solving" the Kurdish question which made it lose a lot of its utility value for the regime. This is also one of the reasons, why the AKP entered a process of decline with these elections. This party has left the peak of its power already behind itself, although it still has most of the votes. Erdogan's remarks that he is not happy with the results are showing that they are also aware of it themselves. Taking into consideration the effects of the deepening economic crisis, which still had less influence on these elections than it is being said, the AKP may prefer early general elections before its influence will be vanished even more.
During these elections, the bourgeoisie tried to reduce everything to the two parties AKP and the CHP: by turning the electoral campaigns into duels of the candidates of these parties and showing them as the only alternatives to each other. However, the fact that also the MHP and other, smaller parties increased their votes show, that they will be a broader and more divided political panorama than only two main forces. It is interesting, that the MHP could increase its votes in the Aegean region in addition to their traditional areas, as it happened in Manisa and Balikesir, where recently cases of racist chauvinist lynch attacks were on the agenda. It seems that the national polarization is getting stronger in Turkey and this bears the danger of reactionary conflicts on national base. While on the one hand the oppressed Kurdish nation in Kurdistan is defending more its national identity and becoming more conscious, on the other hand Turkish nationalism and chauvinism is growing in Turkey, and this is not only limited with the fascist MHP.
Finally, the bourgeoisie was not able to solve any problem not even for a certain time with these elections; on the contrary, the elements which may lead to the outbreak of the deepening regime crisis have increased.
 

 

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Local elections: The first party did not came out as the winner
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The fascist dictatorship again forced people to elect a certain candidate, registered soldiers and police men on the election lists in Kurdistan, applied terror and detention attacks on the electoral campaigns of the left and the national Kurdish movement and realised other forms of manipulation. These and its democratic show were quite often practiced.

01 April 2009 /International Bulletin / Issue: 80

 

On March 29, local elections took place in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. The fascist dictatorship again forced people to elect a certain candidate, registered soldiers and police men on the election lists in Kurdistan, applied terror and detention attacks on the electoral campaigns of the left and the national Kurdish movement and realised other forms of manipulation. These and its democratic show were quite often practiced.
Concerning the results, the ruling AKP still ranks first, however, it lost votes for the first time since it became the government in 2002. Getting 38, 8% of the votes in total at the local elections in the country, the AKP lost three points compared to the local elections in 2004 and eight points over the 2007 parliamentary elections. The AKP lost 12 mayoral seats and has now 46 left.
The other bourgeois regime parties profited from the AKP loosing votes and the wish for change of the people. With 23, 1%, the CHP became the second party and won mayoral seats in 13 towns. The fascist MHP succeeded in winning the seats for mayors in 9 towns and 16 % of the votes.
However, not only the regime parties, but first of all the national Kurdish movement increased its posts as a result of these elections. With 5.6% of the votes, the DTP became the fourth in the whole country and increased its number of mayors of towns from 5 to 8. It also increased its votes considerably in Kurdistan and is undoubtedly one of the main winners of these elections. In total, the DTP won 99 local authorities. Before, it had only 36 places.
Using any means from naked violence to presents like washing machines and fridges or the launch of a Kurdish TV channel, the AKP tried to win a post in Kurdistan, especially in Amed and Dersim, but in vain. The DTP has beaten all records; the mayor of Amed, Osman Baydemir, was re-elected with 65, 43%, which is more than twice of the AKP's votes. In Dersim, too, it was the DTP definitely winning the election. The votes for the DTP reached up to 79% in Hakkari and to 90% in Yuksekova. The DTP was the party with the highest number of female candidates; 14 women were elected as mayors and provincial mayors.
Looking at the map, the CHP is mainly represented at the coast, the MHP forms a second ring with much more gaps and the AKP fills the inner part of the country. The DTP is represented in Kurdistan.
In Istanbul, the candidate of the AKP, Kadir Topbas, won the mayor elections with 44, 33% of the votes after a bitter fight against the candidate of the CHP. In Ankara, the situation was similar.
The candidate of the united platform "We will succeed together", formed by 23 revolutionary and democratic organisations and parties including the ESP and DTP, got the fifth place receiving 4,6% of the votes in Istanbul. Tuncer Bakirhan, candidate of the same platform in the district Esenyurt in Istanbul, reached the highest proportion that the candidates of the platform have reached; he got 14.7% of the votes. In Bahcelievler, another district of Istanbul, Ayse Yumli Yeter, general chairwoman of the union Tekstil-Sen candidating for the same platform, got 17.670 votes, which means being the third biggest force in the district with 5,75% of the votes.
During the elections 7 people lost their lives in clashes occurring in different regions and 97 people were injured. Furthermore, 915 have been detained when they went to the ballots in order to vote. Among them there was also Yagiz Önel of the SGD in Ankara.


What are the main conclusions from these local elections?
First of all, it was not only the AKP but the whole policy of denial and annihilation of the regime against the Kurdish people that has lost once again in this elections and this will deepen the existing regime crisis. In spite of being a local election, the Kurdish people have clearly expressed its political will at the ballots and thus shown that the AKP is as unsuccessful as all the other bourgeois parties in "solving" the Kurdish question which made it lose a lot of its utility value for the regime. This is also one of the reasons, why the AKP entered a process of decline with these elections. This party has left the peak of its power already behind itself, although it still has most of the votes. Erdogan's remarks that he is not happy with the results are showing that they are also aware of it themselves. Taking into consideration the effects of the deepening economic crisis, which still had less influence on these elections than it is being said, the AKP may prefer early general elections before its influence will be vanished even more.
During these elections, the bourgeoisie tried to reduce everything to the two parties AKP and the CHP: by turning the electoral campaigns into duels of the candidates of these parties and showing them as the only alternatives to each other. However, the fact that also the MHP and other, smaller parties increased their votes show, that they will be a broader and more divided political panorama than only two main forces. It is interesting, that the MHP could increase its votes in the Aegean region in addition to their traditional areas, as it happened in Manisa and Balikesir, where recently cases of racist chauvinist lynch attacks were on the agenda. It seems that the national polarization is getting stronger in Turkey and this bears the danger of reactionary conflicts on national base. While on the one hand the oppressed Kurdish nation in Kurdistan is defending more its national identity and becoming more conscious, on the other hand Turkish nationalism and chauvinism is growing in Turkey, and this is not only limited with the fascist MHP.
Finally, the bourgeoisie was not able to solve any problem not even for a certain time with these elections; on the contrary, the elements which may lead to the outbreak of the deepening regime crisis have increased.