Socialist Democracy Party (Sosyalist Demokrasi Partisi, SDP) is a left-socialist party in Turkey

Turkey

Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

. Most of its members were formerly in an opposition grouping within ÖDP

Freedom and Solidarity Party

Freedom and Solidarity Party is a left-wing party in Turkey. The party has had limited electoral success, although it controls a number of town halls and is influential in some unions of public employees...

, named Sosyalist Eylem Platformu (Socialist Action Platform). They defended closer ties with pro-Kurdish

Kurdish people

The Kurdish people, or Kurds , are an Iranian people native to the Middle East, mostly inhabiting a region known as Kurdistan, which includes adjacent parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey...

 DEHAP

Democratic People's Party (Turkey)

Democratic People's Party was a Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. DEHAP was founded 24 October 1997. It was the continuation of the People's Democracy Party , which was banned in March 2003 by the Constitutional Court on the grounds that it supported the Kurdistan Workers Party.At its...

 and radical left

Far left

Far left, also known as the revolutionary left, radical left and extreme left are terms which refer to the highest degree of leftist positions among left-wing politics...

 and campaigned against privatisation and European Union

Accession of Turkey to the European Union

Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...

 membership. Their views were seen "too conservative" by most ÖDP affiliates and they left the party in 2001.

In 2002, SDP was founded. They didn't participate in elections of 2002 and 2004 but they supported left-wing electoral alliances. In the summer of 2005, they announced a Sosyalist Forum for negotiations of a broader unification, which proved to be futile. At 2007

Turkish general election, 2007

Turkey's 16th general election was held on July 22, 2007 and resulted in a resounding victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party...

 elections, they declared support for the independent candidates of Democratic Society Party

Democratic Society Party

The Democratic Society Party was a Kurdish Kurdish nationalist political party in Turkey. The party considered itself social democratic, and had observer status in the Socialist International. It was considered to be the successor of the Democratic People's Party...

. Akın Birdal

Akın Birdal

Akın Birdal is a Member of Parliament of the Peace and Democracy Party for Diyarbakır, Turkey....

 who was elected to the Parliament

Grand National Assembly of Turkey

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...

 in 2007 is the honorary chairman of SDP.

Following a major internal strife, a number of founding members, including Mihri Belli

Mihri Belli

Mihri Belli was a prominent leader of the socialist movement in Turkey. He was legendary for having fought on the partisan side in the Greek Civil War....

, a prestigious name of the Turkish left, resigned in 2008. In 2009, Filiz Koçali

Filiz Koçali

Filiz Koçali is a Turkish politician and secretary general of the Socialist Democracy Party . She is also known as a feminist activist and journalist....

, the only female party chairperson of Turkey at that date, declared her resignation and the party activity continues for socialism.