Youth Matters #5 – Erkan Baş

At Youth Matters #5, which took place on Wednesday 19th of April, we hosted Erkan Baş, Chairperson of the Workers’ Party of Türkiye.

In the event moderated by journalist Beril Eski, Erkan Baş first answered the moderator’s questions and then answered the questions of the young people participating in the event, addressing the dominant understanding of politics in Türkiye and the importance of the 2023 general elections.

Referring to the prevalence of young people in every position within the Workers’ Party of Türkiye, Erkan Baş said, “We do not have any elderly candidates in electable positions.” He mentioned that the age average of his party’s candidates is 40 and that workers are at the top of the distribution in terms of professions. Stating that 75 of the 398 parliamentary candidates are workers and 38 are students, he underlined that the Workers’ Party of Türkiye resonates with workers and youth.

When asked about his support for the headscarf ban when he was a university student, he replied, “If the constitutional amendment proposal had come to parliament, perhaps we would have been the only party to vote against it. It’s not because we are against people wearing headscarves, but because I don’t think it’s right for a parliament consisting of 83% men to decide what women should wear. Because I refuse to let this become a political tool.”

Regarding his party’s decision for a separate list, as he said, “We are entering the elections in some provinces due to the obligation to enter the elections in 41 provinces. In some provinces we do not have any expectations and in other provinces we are running for elections to get a parliamentary seat. In all these provinces and constituencies, we sat down and made calculations one by one. Therefore, we have determined the best scenario for the alliance. The voters have a justified concern, but we share the same concern. We did not nominate a candidate in the presidential election. This is a product of the same concern.”, he expressed that it is worth fighting for the inclusion of the youth, workers and women who cannot find a place in the opposition in politics and that they would prefer the hard way.

You can watch the entire event on Arayuz Campaign YouTube channel very soon. You can also access Youth Matters #4 from the link.