DIYARBAKIR, Turkey — A shopkeeper showed me an Instagram photo of his Nov. 1 ballot stamped "yes" for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP). “This time I voted for the HDP, but this is the last time,” he said.

“If it goes on like this nobody else will vote for them, either,” said the shopkeeper, who spoke to Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity.

Election day was calm in Sur. When the votes were tallied, most people were disappointed. They were expecting many to vote for the HDP because of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government’s harsh crackdown on the youth wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), the Patriotic Revolutionary Youth Movement (YDG-H). But the opposite might have happened.

Back in August, the Kurdistan Communities Union, an umbrella organization that includes the PKK, declared it would no longer recognize the authority of any state agency. Self-government was declared in towns in many provinces. The PKK’s youth wing dug ditches and erected barricades to prevent security forces from entering their neighborhoods. But the state’s response was quick and harsh. Curfews were declared in many locations and massive security operations were launched.