Speaking at the opening of the “Conference on Local Administrations towards 2014 Local Elections” organized by HDK (People's Democratic Congress) and HDP (People's Democratic Party), Istanbul BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder said that debates before local elections should start with the question “what life we want in the urban life”.

Önder remarked that the creation of an effective urban opposition would have a much more regulative and transformative role in the urban life than that of the urban government. He said the first step in this regard was taken during the Gezi resistance, and that public forums constituted the major sub-organs of such a mechanism.

Pointing out that neither the government nor the opposition had a transparent management policy, Önder said that the basic trouble expecting the left-wing circles was the 'what if the votes are disjoined' syndrome going on for years now.

The BDP deputy said it was not only historical causes but also the local government method of social democrats that has led to the regression of the left in Turkey so far. “The problem is not with the policies of alliance but the failure to give confidence to the people. These local elections could also be seen as the term of taking over the management of our fates”, he underlined.

Speaking after, TESEV management director Fikret Toksöz said that there was a need to establish an organization starting from the smallest local units and neighborhoods in order for the solution of numerous problems in the social area and the fields of health and economy.

Journalist-writer Cengiz Aktar said the matter of autonomy or local government in Turkey could only be brought to a solution through the constitution, adding that it is only the BDP that has seen this truth in the country. He added that the establishment of an autonomous government and decentralization would be a development good for not only Kurds but also for the whole country.