Parliament was almost full in the early hours of Tuesday as lawmakers voted on a law for the dissolution of the PKK terrorist group, with a rare record of 467 submitting a "yes."
The General Assembly convened for a lengthy deliberation early Monday with almost all lawmakers attending the session on the Law on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion.
The law brings deferral for prosecution and sentencing of members of the terrorist group, which agreed to dissolve itself in 2025. It had its fair share of detractors in the ranks of the opposition parties, and the vote also laid bare the divide even within parties. Still, the consensus was almost unprecedented in the session of the 600-seat Parliament.
“What is particularly important here is establishing a sound and sustainable balance between security and freedom, public order and democratic politics, and the security of the state and citizens’ sense of belonging,” Zakir Avşar, a professor from Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University, told Daily Sabah.
The adoption of the legislation alone will not determine the outcome of the process, Avşar said, stressing that its implementation will be the critical factor in determining whether the initiative succeeds.
According to the expert, the next phase should remain firmly grounded in the rule of law, while maintaining coordination among state institutions and safeguarding public order. Clear, measured and transparent communication will also be essential to maintaining public confidence and securing broader social support for the process.
Only the Good Party (IP), which has long conditioned itself to reject any move to end PKK terrorism, claimed that the terror-free Türkiye initiative, which gave birth to the law, was a concession to the terrorist group. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) that proposed the law cast 268 “yes” votes while 44 lawmakers from its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) approved the law.
Avşar also cautioned against reducing the "terror-free Türkiye initiative" to partisan politics or short-term political debates.
While describing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the driving force behind the vision and the AK Party as the political actor that has spearheaded the initiative, he argued that permanently ending terrorism should ultimately be regarded as a national achievement rather than a victory for any single political party or group.
“The success of this process should therefore be measured not by the political advantage it provides to one side over another, but by its contribution to Türkiye’s common future.”
A total of 35 lawmakers from the main opposition New Party voted in favor of the law while 55 lawmakers from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is linked to the PKK, also voted yes. Twenty-nine lawmakers of the former main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) voted in favor. Similarly, the New Path Party cast 16 votes in favor.
The bill was also the first real test of the unity of the New Party, which was established last month by former CHP Chair Özgür Özel, who was ousted from his party over allegations of vote-buying. Özel announced he would vote yes hours before the session, but YP lawmakers overwhelmingly opposed the law. Almost every lawmaker from the party announced within hours in their social media posts that they would vote against the law, leaving Özel and a bunch of his deputies alone at the "yes" camp.
Avşar said differing positions within the opposition should ideally be viewed as competing approaches to managing Türkiye’s broader transformation rather than simply as part of a political confrontation. However, he argued that opponents of the process had so far failed to make a convincing case for their position.
Instead, he said, some of the opposition appeared to be seeking to consolidate voters who are skeptical of the initiative and turn those concerns into political advantage.
Despite political disagreements, the expert argued that ending terrorism should be treated as a national objective that transcends party competition.
“The end of terrorism should not be regarded as the success of any single political party, but as a shared achievement of the nation.”
Özel also incurred outrage among supporters, with social media users accusing him of political maneuvering, with messages of “shame on you” piling up. Social media users questioned how Özel was supposed to unite the opposition to the incumbent government with such a wide difference of opinion among the YP’s lawmakers. Supporters of New Path, including local branches of the party, also voiced their opposition to their leader Mahmut Arıkan endorsing the bill.
Avşar added that political actors should focus on strengthening the conditions necessary to permanently end terrorism, while criticism should help ensure that the process remains within the rule of law, upholds democratic standards and takes public sensitivities into account.
The existence of different views is therefore not a problem in itself, he stated. The greater risk would be allowing what he described as a historic opportunity for Türkiye to become overshadowed by short-term political calculations.
Avşar described the process as a historic opportunity to strengthen Türkiye’s capacity for lasting domestic peace, arguing that permanently ending terrorism could have implications far beyond security.
“A terror-free Türkiye would not be a victory for one political camp, but a gain for all of us.”
On Wednesday, Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş and Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi will hold a meeting with governors of 81 provinces for coordinating the next stage of the terror-free Türkiye initiative. Interior Ministry said the meeting would focus on monitoring the process at the provincial level, social cohesion of surrendered members of the PKK, and enforcement of public order. Kurtulmuş, who led the parliamentary leg of the initiative, Çiftçi, who oversees law enforcement, will also discuss with governors possible provocations to undermine the process and combatting disinformation.
The law covers most PKK members who will be able to benefit from its advantages only after the National Security Council formally declares that the PKK dissolved itself and abandoned arms. After the declaration, PKK members will have six months to apply. In return, they will have their prosecution postponed for a period between five and ten years, based on the severity of offenses they have committed while they were a member of the PKK. The PKK’s senior cadres and members involved in intentional murder and other violent crimes will be exempt from leniency.
