, logo = Peoples' Democratic Congress.png , logo_size = 200px , leader1_title = Spokesman , leader1_name =

Ertuğrul Kürkçü Ertuğrul Kürkçü (born 5 May 1948) is a Turkish politician, socialist activist and the current Honorary President of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) as of 22 June 2014 and Honorary Associate of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of ...

, leader2_title = Spokeswoman , leader2_name =

Sebahat Tuncel Sebahat Tuncel (born 5 July 1975) is a Turkish politician of Kurdish origin, women's rights advocate, former nurse and member of the Parliament in Turkey. She was elected a member of parliament while being in prison. Early life and education ...

, foundation = , predecessor =

Labour, Democracy and Freedom Bloc The Labour, Democracy and Freedom Bloc (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Emek, Demokrasi ve Özgürlük Bloğu'') was an electoral alliance formed by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) with several other smaller left-wing parties and polit ...

, wing1_title = Political wing , wing1 = Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) , ideology = Democratic socialism
Anti-capitalism

Minority rights Minority rights are the normal individual rights as applied to members of racial, ethnic, class, religious, linguistic or gender and sexual minorities, and also the collective rights accorded to any minority group. Civil-rights movements ...

, position =

Left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

, international = , colours =

Purple Purple is any of a variety of colors with hue between red and blue. In the RGB color model used in computer and television screens, purples are produced by mixing red and blue light. In the RYB color model historically used by painters, ...

, website = , country = Turkey The Peoples' Democratic Congress ( tr, Halkların Demokratik Kongresi, HDK) is a union of numerous

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

political movements, organisations and parties in

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

that aims to fundamentally recreate

Turkish politics The politics of Turkey take place in the framework of a constitutional republic and presidential system, with various levels and branches of power. Turkey's political system is based on a separation of powers. Executive (government), Executive ...

and represent oppressed, exploited individuals who face ethnic, religious or gender discrimination. The Congress is anti-capitalist and was formed on 15 October 2011. It organises numerous conferences and holds official congresses. In 2012, the Congress established a new party that would act as its political wing, the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP). A similar union of left-wing groups, the

United June Movement The United June Movement ( Turkish: ''Birleşik Haziran Hareketi'', BHH) was a political coalition bringing together left-wing, communist and socialist parties, Marxist–Leninist political organizations, independent individuals and various lef ...

, was formed in 2014.

Formation

In preparation for the 2011 general election, the

Peace and Democracy Party The Peace and Democracy Party ( tr, Barış ve Demokrasi Partisi, ku, Partiya Aştî û Demokrasiyê, BDP) was a Kurdish political party in Turkey existing from 2008 to 2014. Development BDP succeeded the Democratic Society Party (DTP) in 20 ...

(BDP) and several smaller parties fielded joint candidates as independents, under the '

' banner. The purpose was to by-pass the 10%

election threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...

needed by parties to gain representation in the

Grand National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to: * Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania * Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of R ...

. 35 of the 61 candidates that ran under the Bloc were elected. After the election, these parties came together with smaller

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

rights movements and others to form the Peoples' Democratic Congress in October 2011, with

and

as the spokesman and spokeswoman respectively.

Aims

The Congress aims to provide a platform for oppressed and exploited individual as well as minorities facing religious or ethnic discrimination. The Congress also is strongly in favour of

women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

and thus operates a co-leader system with one male and one female spokesperson. The Congress aims to represent Kurdish minority in particular and is critical of the lack of constitutional enshrinement of minority rights. Other minorities that the Congress aims to represent are

Alevis Alevism or Anatolian Alevism (; tr, Alevilik, ''Anadolu Aleviliği'' or ''Kızılbaşlık''; ; az, Ələvilik) is a local Islamic tradition, whose adherents follow the mystical Alevi Islamic ( ''bāṭenī'') teachings of Haji Bektash Veli, ...

Armenians Armenians ( hy, հայեր, '' hayer'' ) are an ethnic group native to the Armenian highlands of Western Asia. Armenians constitute the main population of Armenia and the ''de facto'' independent Artsakh. There is a wide-ranging diasp ...

, Assyrians, Azerbaijanis,

Circassians The Circassians (also referred to as Cherkess or Adyghe; Adyghe and Kabardian: Адыгэхэр, romanized: ''Adıgəxər'') are an indigenous Northwest Caucasian ethnic group and nation native to the historical country-region of Circassia ...

, Laz, the

community and

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

. The Congress is heavily critical of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...

and what they see as the exploitation of workers. Politically, the Congress is

democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within ...

and has its political interests represented by the Peoples' Democratic Party. The

Democratic Regions Party The Democratic Regions Party ( tr, Demokratik Bölgeler Partisi, DBP, ku, Partiya Herêman a Demokratîk, PHD) is a Kurdish political party in the Republic of Turkey. The pro-minority rights Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) acts as the fraterna ...

is also affiliated with the Congress but runs for local government positions in the Kurdish majority south-east only.

Participants

*78'ers Initiative *

Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey The Confederation of Progressive Trade Unions of Turkey ( Turkish: ''Türkiye Devrimci İşçi Sendikaları Konfederasyonu'', DİSK) is one of the four major national trade union centres in Turkey. It was founded in 1967 as a breakaway union from ...

**Cam Keramik İş ** **Limter İş ** *Democracy and Freedom Movement (DÖH) *Democratic Free Women's Movement (DÖKH) *Democratic Pomak Movement *

(DBP) *Free Democratic Alevi Movement *Global Action Group (KEG) * Green Left Party *Hevi LGBTİ * Democratic Islamic Congress * *Kaldıraç * Kaos Gay and Lesbian Cultural Research and Solidarity Association (KAOS GL) * Labour Party (EMEP) *Marxist Attitude *Munzer Protection Board * *Partizan *Rainbow Women's Association * Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party (DSİP) *Social Freedom Party Initiative (TÖPG) *

Socialist Party of the Oppressed Socialist Party of the Oppressed ( tr, Ezilenlerin Sosyalist Partisi, ESP; ku, Partiya Sosyalîst a Bindestan, PSB) is a Marxist-Leninist political party in the Republic of Turkey. It defines itself as "a militant revolutionary socialist party f ...

(ESP) * Socialist Refoundation Party (SYKP) * (SODAP) *Solidarity with the Palestinian People (FHDD) *Teori Politika *Theory and Society: Kurdish Studies *Tüm Köy Sen *Turkey Truth *Voice of Labor In addition, Socialist Alternative is not a participant in the HDK but is broadly supportive of it.

External links

A full list of the Congress members

References

{{Electoral alliances in Turkey 2011 establishments in Turkey

Formation

Aims

Participants

See also

External links

References