Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu (born 1966; Batman) is a Turkish-Kurdish politician and lawyer who led the Kurdish Islamist Free Cause Party from June 2013 to May 2018 and again from June 2021 on.[1][2]
Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Grand National Assembly | |
| Assumed office 3 June 2023 | |
| Constituency | İstanbul (III) (2023) |
| Leader of the Free Cause Party | |
| Assumed office 6 June 2021 | |
| Preceded by | İshak Sağlam |
| In office 30 June 2013 – 21 May 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Mehmet Hüseyin Yılmaz |
| Succeeded by | Mehmet Yavuz |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1966 (age 57–58) Batman, Turkey |
| Political party | Free Cause Party |
| Education | Lawyer, politician |
| Alma mater | Ankara University, Law School |
Biography edit
Born in 1966 in the city of Batman in the eastern part of Turkey, he worked as a lawyer from 1990 to 2012 after finishing his education as a lawyer in Ankara. He co-founded the Free Cause Party in 2013 in an attempt to consolidate the conservative Kurdish vote.[3] Yapıcıoğlu had previously been a supporter of Kurdish Hezbollah and also stated that the cause of Hüda-Par was the continuation of that of Sheikh Said.[4]
Yapıcıoğlu is Anti-Darwinian and generally uses Islamic rhetoric in his speeches.[5][6] Moreover, he is against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, anti-America[7] and also criticized the ruling Justice and Development Party's policies and their failure in bringing peace to Kurdish areas.[8]
Electoral history edit
Yapıcıoğlu ran unsuccessfully as an independent twice in 2015 and in 2018 in the district of Diyarbakır and received 3.4% and 4.3% of the vote share respectively.
| Election | District | Votes[9] | % | Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General elections, June 2015 | Diyarbakır | 27,537 | 3.4% | Not elected |
| General elections, 2018 | Diyarbakır | 35,239 | 4.3% | Not elected |
References edit
- ^ "Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu İstifa Etti" (in Turkish). Milliyet. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Kurdistan Islamic Union congratulates Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu for winning HÜDA PAR chairmanship". Dogru Haber. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
- ^ "Hür Dava Partisi (Hüda par) nedir?". Hürriyet Daily News (in Turkish). Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ Mehmet Kurt (2017). Kurdish Hizbullah in turkey – Islamism, violence and the State. London: PlutoPress. p. 49.
- ^ Mehmet Kurt (2017). Kurdish Hizbullah in turkey – Islamism, violence and the State. London: PlutoPress. p. 108.
- ^ "Our goal is to establish justice: Yapıcıoğlu" (in Turkish). İlke Haber Ajansı. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu Rojava ve 'O sözlere' ilişkin konuştu" (in Turkish). 27 October 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "HÜDA PAR lideri Yapıcıoğlu: Ak Parti sistemi muhafaza ediyor". Independent Türkçe (in Turkish). 19 October 2019. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
- ^ "Sandık Sonuçları ve Tutanaklar". sonuc.ysk.gov.tr (in Turkish). Retrieved 23 March 2020.