protesting the lack of government intervention against the advance of ISIL militants on the city of Kobanî in Syria, just south of the Turkish border. The HDP openly supported the protests, while calling for non-violence. Protestors were met with tear gas and water cannon, leading to more than 40 deaths. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu heavily criticised the HDP for calling for more protests and responded by drafting a heavily controversial domestic security bill and calling for the HDP to prove itself to be a peaceful political party. Nevertheless, the solution process continued despite the riots, with ISIL being completely ejected from Kobanî by April 2015. HDP MP Altan Tan later claimed that his party had miscalculated the consequences of calling for more protests, although his statements were met with opposition from the confederalist KCK organisation. Historical leaders The HDP operates a co-presidential system, whereby the party is chaired by one chairman and one chairwoman, elected during party congresses. Since its establishment in 2012, the party has had a total of ten leaders, five men and five women. The current leaders were elected at the 4th Congress of the Peoples' Democratic Party on the 23 February 2020. Chairpersons The following is a list of the current and previous chairpersons of the HDP, showing the names, birth and death dates where applicable and also the start and end dates of their leadership. Honorary Presidents In the Extraordinary HDP congress held on 22 June 2014, the outgoing chairperson Ertuğrul Kürkçü was by an amendment in the HDP Bylaw awarded the status of the Honorary President. Kürkçü is the first co-president to serve in that capacity. Party congresses The party has held several ordinary congresses throughout different cities, mostly focussing on provinces in south-eastern Turkey. So far, the party has had two nationwide extraordinary congresses, held in 2013 and 2014, where elections were held to select the chairpersons of the party. 1st Extraordinary congress, 2013 The party's 1st extraordinary congress was held in the Ahmet Taner Kışlalı Stadium in Ankara on 27 October 2013. The HDP Executive Board and the Congressional Preparation Council both recommended Ertuğrul Kürkçü and Sebahat Tuncel for the positions of chairman and chairwoman respectively, after which both formally assumed their positions. The congress focussed mainly in voicing support for the Gezi Park protests. A message from the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, emphasizing the party's support for a decentralization of