Pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Pervin Buldan has called on the six-party opposition bloc to withdraw their yet-nominated joint candidate in favor of the HDP.
Asking why some were expecting the HDP to withdraw its candidate in favor of the six-party opposition bloc, but not considering the opposite way, “Let them withdraw their candidate, let them vote for us,” Buldan told Bianet on Friday.
“We are speaking so clearly; our candidate would be someone much more inclusive, someone much more reassuring and someone who would address the conscience of Turkish society, than the six-party bloc’s candidate,” she said.
Buldan also said that HDP’s candidate has a very high chance of winning the election in the first round, should the opposition bloc’s joint candidate withdraws in favor of HDP.
Turkey is gearing up for presidential and parliamentary elections this year, most probably to be held in May. Six opposition parties, including the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) are working to put forward a joint candidate to run against Erdogan in the presidential race.
HDP on the other hand who earlier said it is open to negotiations with the six-party bloc over the idea of supporting a joint candidate, at the beginning of this month announced that it will nominate its own candidate in the first round of upcoming elections should the six-party fails a dialogue with the HDP on certain principles.
“The table of Six expects us to “not to appear next to them, not to pose in a joint photo, but to vote for their candidate unconditionally. This is not possible,” Buldan said.
Reminding that the HDP is Turkey’s third largest party after Erdogan’s AKP and the main opposition CHP, “It is a decisive force. Therefore, we do not have any reason not to nominate our own presidential candidate, on the contrary, we have many reasons to do so,” she said.
Buldan said HDP will announce its own presidential candidate in early February.
“We have long been fighting to end Erdogan’s AKP regime in Turkey and our only goal for the elections is to bury them into the dustbin of history,” she said.
Source: Gerçek News
