Turkey’s HÜDA PAR (Free Cause Party) is holding its “4th Ordinary Grand Congress” in the capital Ankara at the Atatürk Sport and Exhibition Hall.

The congress, which is expected to elect the party’s new chairman, started at 10:00 a.m.

The hall decorated with party flags consisting of green, yellow, and white colors.

Giant banners reading "Honest Politics Needs True Justice", "Humanity First, Justice Foremost”, "Our Cause is Freedom, Justice, Peace, and Brotherhood" were hung in the hall.

Speaking to Ilke News Agency regarding the preparations for the congress, HÜDA PAR Secretary-General Şehzade Demir said that they will hold the congress with the participation of delegates only due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"If Allah wills, we will hold the 4th Ordinary Grand Congress tomorrow. For this purpose, we have finally completed our preparation. In our congress, we will observe all measures taken against the coronavirus pandemic in order not to endanger the health of our people. We'll get our delegates into the hall in a controlled manner with HES codes. We will adhere to mask and social distancing rules,” Demir said.

The HÜDA PAR holds its ordinary congress once every three years. The last ordinary congress was held on October 7, 2018.

At the congress, İshak Sağlam was elected as the new chairman of the party.

Based largely in southeastern Turkey, HÜDA PAR, which was founded on 17 December 2012, announced its entrance into politics to protect peace, justice, and brotherhood.

The party opened its general headquarters in Ankara on 9 January 2013.

Societies affiliated with HÜDA-PAR operate under the umbrella organization Lovers of Prophet particularly active in Kurdish Mawlid meetings.

HÜDA-PAR calls for the constitutional recognition of the Kurds and Kurdish language, mother tongue education, the end to the 10 percent election threshold, and the decentralization of state power and strengthening of local administration.

The party also advocates for restrictions on the freedom of religion and worship to be lifted, the headscarf ban ended, wants adultery criminalized, and religious marriages to be recognized. Moreover, the party demands that the Turkish state apologizes to Kurds and reinstate the original names of Kurdish-populated places.

The party also demands the decentralization of state power and the strengthening of local administration.

The party has largely been silent on the question of Kurdish autonomy or independence from Turkey.

According to some political analysts, the party wants to form “a third way for those Kurds who are not happy with the AKP and the leftist HDP.” (ILKHA)