DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — The gunfire echoing through Diyarbakir could have been mistaken for clashes if it weren’t for the fireworks and the boisterous convoys halting traffic in the streets. The city, the largest in Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast, has been the scene of wild celebrations since the evening of June 7, when the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) made history by passing the infamous 10% national threshold to enter parliament, boosting hopes for a negotiated settlement of the Kurdish question.

According to preliminary results, the HDP won 80 seats in the 550-member parliament, including 10 of the 11 seats for Diyarbakir, leaving only one to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The breakthrough came at the end of a tense campaign marred by violence that culminated in two deadly bomb blasts just at the start of the party’s main rally in Diyarbakir on June 5. 

But gloom and anxiety dissipated soon after the vote-counting began and the first results were announced. The entire city turned into a festival venue as thousands took to the streets, ignoring HDP calls to stay at voting stations to monitor the counting and thus prevent electoral fraud. The young and old came together, waving flags and touring the city, while others beat drums and danced.

Fevziye Kaya, 75, who lost two relatives who were fighters in the ranks of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), stayed out until 3 a.m. despite her age and ailing husband. “I’m so happy! We celebrated until the morning. My husband’s blood sugar kept going up and down,” she told Al-Monitor.