Rules of Procedure of the Democratic Union Party (PYD)
1. General Provisions
• Name: Democratic Union Party (Partiya Yekîtiya Demokratîk)
• Abbreviation: PYD
• Party Symbol: a semicircular green olive branch on the left and a semicircular yellow wheat spike with a red star in the middle. At the top of the circle, the letters (PYD) are written, and at the bottom, the year of establishment (200
3) is written.
• Party Headquarters: the Party HQ is located in the city of Al Qamishli (Qamişlo) with branch offices in all the areas where the party is active.
• Party Goals:
• Struggle for the democratisation of Syria based on the principle of the brotherhood of peoples, because Syria has a long history of being a cultural mosaic and an interconnected social fabric. This history will be the ground on which the shared life of all the ethnic and religious components of Syria is built. This will only be achieved through the shared struggle of all ethnicities, such as the Kurds, Arabs, Assyrian, Syriacs, Turkmen and Chechens, etc., to undermine the chauvinist nationalist mentality, which has scattered Syrian society. Thus, the PYD works towards finding a democratic and just solution to the Kurdish issue in Syria and Rojava within a democratic Syrian constitutional framework.
• Develop the Democratic Self-administration system, which currently exists in Rojava, and is considered the most successful solution to all socio-political issues. Furthermore, it should be disseminated to all parts of Syria to achieve a democratic, pluralist and decentralised Syria.
• Strengthening the brotherhood amongst peoples and ethnic groups within the framework of free and voluntary union based upon shared homeland and the democratic nation.
• Support the democratic liberation struggle in all parts of Kurdistan in order to achieve and consolidate Kurdish national unity based upon the principle of democratic communal confederalism without compromising political borders
• Work towards a democratic confederate Middle Eastern union and to move forward towards building a political, moral and ecological community that takes women's freedom as its foundation.
• Achieve gender equality and to consolidate social justice.
2. The Party Essence
The PYD considers Mr Abdullah Ocalan, the author of democratic civilisation and democratic nation theory, as an inspiration to the Party. The PYD also considers the Movement for a Democratic Society (TEV-DEM), in which women and youth are the avant-garde, the democratic and communal organisation that represents it in Rojava. The PYD adopts the paradigm of the moral society and the approach of democratic politics to its work and relies on the principle of equal sharing as its fundamental principle. The PYD is a democratic and populist political party that rejects all chauvinistic concepts and stances and believes in pluralism and freedom of belief. The PYD takes openness, the legitimate democratic struggle and peaceful political dialogue as the basis for addressing issues and achieving goals as set out in the program. The PYD works to establish relations with Kurdistani parties in other parts of Kurdistan in order to consolidate national unity. The PYD believes that the Democratic Self-administration is the political, administrative and social system of Rojava, and works towards developing and disseminating it to other parts of Syria. The Party builds its relations with all social groups and Syrian civil society organisations on the basis of the free citizenship principle.
3. Party Membership
• Party Member:
Anybody who fulfils all of the following criteria is eligible to join the PYD. They must be at least eighteen years of age; believe in the democratic nation; believe in the Party's Rules of Procedure and expresses them in their daily lives; not be a member of another party, the People's Protection Units (YPG), the Women's Protection Units (YPJ) nor the internal security forces (Asayesh), abide by Party rules; and pay their monthly membership.
• Candidate for Party Membership: the candidate is prepared for membership during a period of training and education lasting no more than three months.
• Party Supporter: a party supporter is a person who accepts all the goals of the party, works towards achieving them according to his/her abilities, and supports the party both financially and morally.
• Party Membership (Granting and Revocation):
The person who wants to apply for party membership should apply to one of the Party's committees near his/her place of residence. The candidate is then seconded or recommended by two party members, and is nominated for membership. The candidate is subjected to a probationary or trial period - no less than one month and no more than three months. Following the successful completion of this period, the candidate becomes a full party member after receiving the approval of the local committee and approval by the Party's Provincial General Co-ordinating Committee. The Party’s Provincial Administration inspects and makes decisions on requests by members to rejoin the Party if their membership has been revoked. Except in the case of members who, prior to their dismissal, had occupied senior leadership positions, their requests to re-join the party are dealt with by the Party’s General Council. Similarly, membership revocation is dealt with by the Party’s Provincial Administration. However, members who occupy senior leadership positions must be referred to the Party’s General Council.
• Party Member’s Duties:
• Take pride in and to be associated with the values of all ethnicities of Mesopotamia and other Middle Eastern peoples, the philosophy of Mr Abdullah Ocalan and to struggle for his liberation from captivity as a national, ethical and humane duty.
• Participate in working towards achieving equality between men and women on the basis of belief in the right of women to be free.
• Work with a spirit of sacrifice, enthusiasm, determination and resistance in order to develop the Democratic Self-administration system, implement the Party’s approach, and achieve the Party’s objectives as outlined in the program.
• Apply policies drawn by the leadership of the party, represented by the co-chairmanship and the General Council of the party.
• Implement party instructions and directions without hesitation and act in accordance with the rules of procedure and the party’s ethical standards.
• Understand and absorb the party’s ideological and political approach and apply them in practice.
• Commit to party discipline and the spirit of comradeship.
• Protect the party’s moral and material values, respect the democratic forces, and embody the values and sanctities of the people and defend their interests.
• Recruit highly qualified new members for the Party.
• Not using their position and power for personal gain.
• Defend the Party’s principles under all conditions, within or outside the Party, without making any concessions to any behaviour, attitude, position or life style.
• Protect and develop the gains of the community and public property, without using them for their personal interests.
• Party Member’s Rights:
• Every member has the right to stand as an electoral candidate for all party posts in accordance with party rules and regulations.
• Every member has the right of criticism and self-criticism and the right to defend themselves against charges against them in accordance with party rules and regulations.
• Every member has the right to express their opinions and ideas in all matters, and to participate in party discussions to reach the best decisions.
• Every member is entitled to refine and develop their political and organisational talents and competencies.
• Every member has the right to resign from the party or his duties. Good reasons should be provided, a resignation letter must be supplied to the relevant party authority that deals with resignations. Members’ resignations only come into force once approved by the General Co-ordination Council of the party in the designated canton.
• Every member has the right to request access to the necessary information from the concerned authorities within the party in connection with an incident or an issue, in accordance with the party’s rules and regulations.
• A member is entitled to a position according to their competencies as long as it does not contradict the party’s rules of procedure.
• A member is entitled to request “restitution” when their rights have been violated.
• A member is entitled to request training, both political and intellectual.
• A member is entitled to write personal reports to the concerned authorities within the Party.
• Party Member’s Qualities
• Strives to build and develop the Democratic Self-administration.
• A patriot who loves his/her people and committed to their values.
• A person who has a deep awareness of the history, geography and culture of their society and filled with the love of humanity.
• Represents the ethics of their community and the politics of democracy.
• A believer in the democratic nation and women’s freedom.
• Full of love and respect for their people and colleagues, and deal them on the basis of camaraderie.
• Committed to the principles of the democratic nation and peaceful coexistence between peoples.
• An assiduous, well-organised and innovative person.
• An ecological person, who aims to defend and protect the environment/nature.
• Committed to the values of martyrs and their heritage and embodies their memory in practice/work.
• Does not work to break the will of their colleagues and people and does not demoralise them in their lifestyle.
• Modest in his life and transparent with his/her comrades and people.
