Terrorist group PKK/YPG postpones elections amid pressure from Türkiye

PKK/YPG terrorist organization’s so-called civil administration announced on its social media account that the previously scheduled “local elections” on June 11 in the PKK/YPG-occupied region in northern Syria have been postponed to Aug. 18.

The terrorist group aimed to legitimize itself through these elections in a total of four provinces: Raqqa, Deir el-Zour, Aleppo and Hassakeh. These efforts have faced opposition from within Syria, notably from Kurdish political groups that have been suppressed by force.

Undemocratic aspects of PKK/YPG’s so-called elections

• The candidates aspiring to run must receive approval from a so-called high election commission, dominated by individuals linked to the PKK.
• Voting rights are restricted to those who have held identity cards issued by the autonomous administration for five years within their region of residence.
• Additionally, individuals over 18 without a voter card are ineligible to participate in the elections. Acquiring an identity card mandates conscription into the region’s armed forces, thereby linking mandatory military service to voting rights.
• Since 2014, mandatory military service for men aged 18 to 38 has been enforced by the PKK/YPG in the region.

These issues serve as substantial evidence that the so-called elections planned by the terrorist organization PKK/YPG in the region are being conducted in an undemocratic environment. The terrorist group’s aim is to establish a fait accompli that could spark new tensions in the region.

‘We are closely monitoring the aggressive actions of terrorist organization’

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the following statements on May 30 during the EFES-2024 Military Exercise: “The Syrian branch of the separatist terrorist organization has intensified its pressure, threats, and efforts on the local population with the goal of establishing a ‘terror state.’ They resort to every means, from displacing people who do not submit to the organization and refuse to pay extortion, to using child soldiers.”

Erdogan said that it was clear that the issue was “not about fighting Daesh but rather the execution of a sinister plan that targets” Türkiye and region.

“We are closely monitoring the aggressive actions of the terrorist organization under the pretext of a public referendum against the territorial integrity of our country and Syria. Türkiye will never allow the separatist organization to establish a ‘terror state’ just beyond its southern borders in northern Syria and Iraq,” he said.