Turkey's parliament passes landmark law to advance PKK peace process

Turkey's parliament has passed a landmark law by a 468-88 vote to formalize a peace framework with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), aiming to end a 40-year conflict that has claimed over 40,000 lives. Supported by President Erdogan's AKP, nationalist allies, and the pro-Kurdish DEM party, the law offers conditional, limited amnesties and suspended sentences for up to 3,600 PKK-linked prisoners. However, it excludes jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan and those convicted of homicide, leading the PKK to warn that the disarmament process could stall without Ocalan's release.

Turkish parliament PKK peace law

• ▪The peace process formalized by the August 10, 2026 law aims to end a four-decade ethnic insurgency that has killed more than 40,000 people since 1984.
• ▪Turkey's parliament passed a landmark law on August 10, 2026, establishing a legal framework to advance the peace process and manage the disbandment of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party.

PKK disarmament process

• ▪The peace process publicly began in October 2024 when Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahceli unexpectedly suggested Abdullah Ocalan could address parliament to announce the Kurdistan Workers' Party's dissolution.
• ▪The Kurdistan Workers' Party staged a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq in July 2025, where militants burned their weapons.
• ▪The Kurdistan Workers' Party announced in May 2025 that it would end its armed struggle and dissolve, following a February 2025 call from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Conditional amnesty provisions

• ▪The conditional amnesty provisions of the August 10, 2026 law are expected to initially benefit approximately 3,500 to 3,600 prisoners linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party.
• ▪The August 10, 2026 law suspends prison sentences of up to 15 years for five years, and longer or life sentences for ten years, for convicted Kurdistan Workers' Party members under certain conditions.
• ▪The conditional amnesty provisions of the August 10, 2026 law exclude Kurdistan Workers' Party members convicted of homicide or those sentenced to life terms before June 1, 2005.

Parliamentary vote results

• ▪The nationalist opposition Good Party strongly opposed the bill, with lawmaker Turhan Comez criticizing the government for negotiating with terrorists.
• ▪The peace framework bill was supported by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party, its nationalist coalition allies, and the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party.
• ▪The Turkish parliament approved the peace framework bill by a vote of 468 to 88 on August 10, 2026.

Regional implications beyond Turkey

• ▪The peace initiative offers President Recep Tayyip Erdogan an opportunity to court the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party's support to potentially run for office again beyond the presidential two-term limit.
• ▪The peace law could lead to closer Turkish-Iraqi ties and support the Syrian government's efforts to integrate areas controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

Abdullah Ocalan prison status

• ▪The Kurdistan Workers' Party warned that many of the bill's provisions would remain a dead letter if Abdullah Ocalan is not freed to directly coordinate the peace process.
• ▪The August 10, 2026 law makes no mention of the status or release of jailed Kurdistan Workers' Party founder Abdullah Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on Imrali island since 1999.