Freedom and Solidarity Party

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Özgürlük ve Dayanışma Partisi / Freedom and Solidarity Party




Leader	Ufuk Uras

Founded	1996
Headquarters	GMK Bulvari No: 87 / 18, Maltepe, Ankara

Political ideology	Socialism
International affiliation	European Anticapitalist Left

Website	http://odp.org.tr

Turkey
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Freedom and Solidarity Party (Özgürlük ve Dayanışma Partisi (ÖDP)) is a socialist party of Turkey founded in 1996 as a merger of several left-wing currents. In general elections of 1999, the party got about 0.8 % of the national vote, falling far behind the 10 % threshold for parliamentary representation. A deep interior crisis followed and by 2002, several of the initial groupings left. In 2002 elections, the party got 0.3 % of the national vote.

In 2004 local elections, ÖDP gained control of two town halls in Artvin and Yozgat. In the 2004 local elections ÖDP was presented in a coalition with the pro-Kurdish DEHAP and the left Social Democrat SHP (Sosyaldemokrat Halk Partisi). Nationwide the coalition won 5%, markedly higher in the Kurdish dominated Southeast of the country (59% in Diyarbakır and 70% in Batman).

The party is influential in some labor unions, especially the Teacher's Union and several other unions of public employees.

In its program, ÖDP calls itself as a "carrier of the universal and historical longing" for "a equal, free, exploitation-less and class-less world." It aims to "end the power of the forces of capital and imperialism" and "set up the power of the labor forces", "towards a libertarian, self-rule-based, internationalist, pro-democratic-planning, ecologist, anti-militarist and feminist socialism." The party is member of the European Anticapitalist Left and has an observer status at Party of the European Left.

The party publishes the monthly magazine Gelecek (Future).

The prominent groupings within the party are: Libertarian Socialism Platform (former Devrimci Yol (Revolutionary Path) - also known as Dev-Yol) and New Way (USFI member). Several former members of the United Communist Party of Turkey are also active in ÖDP, but they no longer stand together as a distinct platform based on their former allegiances.

The party is chaired by Ufuk Uras.