Turkey's Communist Party emerges strengthened in municipal elections, doubles its votes

Fatih Mehmet Maçoğlu and Hizam Hasirci

Against all odds and despite political polarisation between the governing AKP and the Kemalist Republican People's Party-CHP, the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) emerged significantly strengthened from the municipal elections of March 31. 

Particularly significant is the performance of TKP in the earthquake-ridden Defne municipality, in Hatay, where its candidate, Hizam Hasirci, received 39.62% thus coming in the second place. Additionally, the communist candidate in the Istanbul district of Kadıköy, Fatih Mehmet Maçoğlu (formerly mayor of Dersim) was placed third, with 10.01% of the votes. 

Okuyan: "The Communist Party of Turkey will not enter into an alliance with any party of existing social order"

Interview with Kemal Okuyan, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP), on the recent extraordinary conference and political debates on the opposition, by journalist Özlem Temenna:

— The Communist Party of Turkey shared the resolutions taken at the extraordinary conference with the press. The title of the conference was declared as “One More Step Further”. What kind of roadmap did you employ while preparing the conference resolutions? What kind of a country did you call the masses for?