The HDP has been under pressure to make reforms since its votes significantly dropped in May general election. It fielded candidates under a sister party due to a closure case against the party.
The party held an extraordinary congress in the Turkish capital city of Ankara on Sunday, electing Cahit Kirkazak and Sultan Ozcan as new co-chairs.
“We promised the people of Kurdistan and Turkey and history … that the path taken by mothers who died during the freedom struggle is our path, their case is ours. We will definitely prevail in this case,” said Kirkazak during the event.
Kirkazak has defended the HDP and its members for years in relation to the Kobane case - which is related to 2014 protests in support of the Kurdish city of Kobane in northern Syria after it was attacked by the Islamic State (ISIS). The protests turned violent and tens of people were killed. Turkish authorities blame the HDP for encouraging followers to take to the streets.
Ozcan said that the HDP is “an idea which, as the lifeblood of social life, has the power to open new paths for itself by overcoming obstacles.”
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