The process of restructuring the democratic opposition, initiated following the disappointing electoral results in this year's parliamentary and presidential elections, is still underway. Songül Şarklı spoke to ANF about the Green Left Party women's conference. She said: "The conference was characterised by deep discussions and important suggestions. We were able to identify the problems, something we had also done  in previous conferences. However, we are repeatedly weak in implementing solutions to the identified problems and, somehow, show insufficient will to act. I hope that in the coming phase we will work with more determination to resolve the identified issues."

Practical self-criticism

The conferences were preceded by several people’s meetings in which criticism of the actions of the democratic opposition was collected. This criticism now forms the basis of the restructuring process. Şarklı said: "The results of the Alliance for Work and Freedom have been heavily criticized, especially the lack of consideration of the will of the local population when selecting candidates. The unconditional support for Kılıçdaroğlu in the presidential election was also criticized. Some said that the electoral line-up of the Green Left Party was not sufficiently communicated to the people, resulting in many votes being lost. I personally share these points of criticism and believe they are justified. In addition, it was said and criticized that our organization has serious structural problems. These issues were underlined in all meetings, discussed in working groups, after which some countermeasures were proposed. However, I believe that the real self-criticism will be seen in the practical implementation."

Strengthening our organization

Songül Şarklı spoke of a weakening in both women's capacity for organization and general party work and added that these problems must be overcome in the coming period. She continued: "We agree that we need to carry out more serious, persistent and sustained work on the organization of women in the next period. Because this strengthens us as women. At the same time, this determination would limit and weaken the dominance of men within the party. As the level of organization and influence of women decreases, male dominance in the party gains strength and limits our space. This leads to women turning away from the party. To prevent this, we need to build a strong women’s organization."