Turkey’s Peace and Democratic Society Commission will consist of 51 MPs from all political parties

ANKARA — Speaker of Turkey’s Grand National Assembly Numan Kurtulmuş on Friday announced the formation and the composition of the new “Peace and Democratic Society Commission.” It will consist of 51 members from all political parties.

The new multi-party parliamentary commission comes after the Turkish state made a major U-turn late last year and restarted the peace process with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which it labels a terrorist organization, and the following call, in February 2025, by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to his comrades to lay down their arms—which 30 PKK fighters did symbolically earlier this month. 

Kurtulmuş on Friday sent a letter to all parliamentary groups announcing that the commission will consist of 51 members: 21 from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Republican People’s Party (CHP) 10, Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) 4, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) 4, GOOD Party (İYİ Party) 3, and New Path (Yeni Yol) 3. The remaining seats on the commission will go to non-parliamentary groups (one each). 

Also read: The Kurdish Issue and the Syriacs 

In the letter, Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş (AKP) requested all parties to announce their candidate group members for the committee by Thursday July 31. Turkey’s Grand National Assembly is on recess until October 1. 

The new “Peace and Democratic Society Commission” needs to channel all the good intentions expressed thus far in the peace process into a legal framework. It will then submit legislative recommendations to Turkish Parliament.