Setback for Erdogan, pro-Kurdish party not to field presidential candidate

Ankara, March 22

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) and its allies will not field a presidential candidate in May, its co-leader said on Wednesday, raising the prospect of the opposition uniting against President Tayyip Erdogan’s re-election bid.

At a news conference, Pervin Buldan did not openly say whether her alliance would support opposition candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, after they had met on Monday.

Former HDP co-leader Selahattin Demirtas, who has been in jail since 2016 over what the party says are political reasons, has previously voiced support for Kilicdaroglu, who is the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

The HDP is the third-biggest party in parliament with more than 10% support nationwide and is seen playing a decisive role in the presidential election on May 14.

“In the presidential elections, we will carry out our responsibility against the one-man rule,” Buldan said, adding they will work to instate basic rights and justice. — Reuters