Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan

The Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (PDKI) is a Kurdish political party founded in 1945 in Mahabad by Qazi Muhammad. It played a central role in the short-lived Republic of Mahabad and has been a leading voice for Kurdish autonomy within Iran ever since. After the Iranian Revolution, the party initially participated in the new political process — its leader Abdul Rahman Ghassemlou was elected to the Assembly of Experts for the Constitution in August 1979 with over 80% of the vote in West Azerbaijan — but the Islamic Republic banned the party, rejected Ghassemlou's credentials, and launched a military campaign against Kurdish regions. Ghassemlou was assassinated in Vienna in 1989, and his successor Sadegh Sharafkandi was assassinated in the Mykonos restaurant attack in Berlin in 1992. The party has operated in exile since the early 1980s and is currently led by Mustafa Hijri.