Status: 03/22/2023 3:21 p.m
Turkey will elect a new president in May. The pro-Kurdish left-wing party HDP does not want to put up a candidate against incumbent Erdogan. This increases the chances for the candidate of the opposition alliance.
Almost two months before the presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey, the pro-Kurdish left-wing party HDP has declared that it will not have its own presidential candidate. “We will fulfill our historical responsibility to end the one-man rule in the coming elections,” said party co-chairman Pervin Buldan, referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He has been in power in Turkey for two decades.
The HDP’s decision is seen as tacit support for Erdogan’s secular challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu, agreed by an alliance of six Turkish opposition parties earlier this month after heated debates. Buldan did not say specifically to the press whether her party supports Kilicdaroglu from the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). Nevertheless, Kilicdaroglu’s chances should increase as a result.
The HDP’s decision could play an important role
The HDP is the third largest party in parliament and has more than ten percent of the vote across the country. She could play an important role in the May 14 election. According to recent polls, Erdogan is behind Kilicdaroglu.
Former HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas has already spoken out in favor of supporting Kilicdaroglu. Demirtas has been in prison since 2016 – according to his party for political reasons.
Conflicts between Erdogan and the HDP
Erdogan’s government once worked with HDP politicians. However, Erdogan is now accusing the HDP of being linked to the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Ankara and Western countries have classified as “terrorist”. Erdogan sought the dissolution of the party through numerous court proceedings and a currently ongoing ban process.
The HDP rejects the allegations against them and speaks of a politically motivated ban procedure. The party is scheduled to defend itself before the Turkish constitutional court in mid-April. The Turkish constitutional court rejected a request by the party to postpone the outcome of the proceedings until after the elections in May.