KT Report: Tactical voting campaigns have been a new feature of this Turkish general election. Organised by HDP supporters, they have targeted voters who (1) don’t know who to vote for but (2) know they don’t want president Erdogan to extend his powers after the election, and possibly don’t want a continuation of one-party rule…
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Category Archives: HDP
With the HDP I Am Embracing My Past: Celal Doğan Interview
KT interview: Celal Doğan is number one on the HDP’s list of candidates in the city of Gazientep standing for election to the Turkish parliament. He is a former CHP mayor of the city. If the HDP crosses the 10% threshold nationally, it’s likely that he will become a HDP MP. Q. It seems likely that the…
‘This Is Not an Election For the Parliament, But For Turkey’s Future’
By John Hunt: “We will not make you president”. These words, delivered by HDP leader Selahattin Demirtaş in the Turkish parliament, became his party’s maxim in this critical election campaign. Demirtaş wanted to make it crystal clear that the HDP has no intention of doing a deal with president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to assist his…
Delegation from Britain heads to Turkey to observe crucial election
Peace in Kurdistan Press Release: A delegation of election observers from Britain is setting off for Turkey this week to monitor the proceedings of a vital general election whose outcome will determine the country’s future direction for a generation. The campaign has primarily pitted the authoritarian politics of Erdogan’s AKP against the challenge from the…
The Race Between HDP and AKP: Political Implications of June Elections in Turkey
By Dr Amir Sharifi: There is a great deal at stake for Kurdish human, cultural, and socio-economic rights in Turkey in the June election with ramifications for either contributing to democratic progress or the full emergence of an autocratic regime in Turkey. The larger question is the political outcome of moving from the bullet to…
Ghosts of Gezi and Kobani Haunt Erdoğan
By a KT Correspondent in Istanbul: With six days to go until Turkey’s general election on 7 June, the big question isn’t ‘Who will win?’ but ‘How will the HDP do?’ Everyone expects the ruling AKP to remain the largest party in parliament, but no one knows whether the fourth largest party, the pro-Kurdish HDP…
In Eastern Turkey, Walking in the Shadow of Genocide
By John Lubbock: This article was first published by Global Voices In the week leading up to the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide, British-Armenian historian Ara Sarafian led a group of students, academics and journalists on a mission to engage with local Kurds and the descendants of Armenians in the Kurdish region of Turkey. It…
Turkish Army Kills Civilian during Arbor Day Activities
By Dr. Amy L. Beam: On April 11, 2015, the Turkish army shot from a helicopter and killed Cezmi Budak, former co-chair of the HDP party in Diyadin in eastern Turkey. Local Kurdish residents were going to the outskirts of Yukari Tütek village in the Tendurek Mountains for their annual Arbor Day activities on Saturday…
Demirtas visits Kobanê and calls on Turkey to act against ISIS
KT News: Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the pro-Kurd HDP and candidate in last month’s presidential election in Turkey, today crossed the border to visit the besieged town of Kobanê, where Syrian Kurds have been resisting an ISIS (IS) onslaught for the past 15 days. Demirtas later appeared on Turkish national television and called for Turkey to…
HDP project has been appreciated and gained support: KCK
By the Co-Presidency of the KCK: Prime Minister Erdogan won the Turkish presidential election by a low margin over the voting requirement of 50%. However, Salahattin Demirtas, co-president of HDP, has been the main winner of these elections. Despite unequal conditions, impossibilities, inhibitions and suppressions, he has managed to nearly double his votes. He has…
Sirnak Supports Demirtaş for President; Erdoğan Too Little, Too Late
By Amy L. Beam, Ed.D: On August 10, 2014, Turkey will vote for a new President. The People’s Democratic Party (HDP) candidate, Selahattin Demirtaş is sure to win the vote in Sirnak, in southeast Turkey. This is the first time in Turkey’s history that citizens will have the opportunity to vote for a Kurdish President. There…
‘BDP has solution to all Turkey’s problems, but that’s not understood’: Sebahat Tuncel on BDP-HDP merger
By a Correspondent: The pro-Kurd Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) is set to merge with the People’s Democracy Party (HDP) in a process due to begin soon, when all the BDP deputies in the Turkish parliament will join the HDP. Sebahat Tuncel, co-chair of the HDP, told Radikal in an interview yesterday that the HDP will…
HDP to continue ‘democratise Turkey’ campaign, despite election setback
KT Report: Following Sunday’s local elections in Turkey, the HDP (Peoples’ Democratic Party) leadership met on Tuesday to discuss the results and its future plans. In western Turkey the HDP ran a campaign parallel to the pro-Kurd BDP (Peace and Democracy Party), which stood in north Kurdistan. While the BDP vote went up, and the…
Elections test for Erdogan and for Kurdish movement
KT Report from Dyarbakir: Today’s municipal electıons are a trial for Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, against a backdrop of months of damaging leaks. corruption allegations and accusations of increased authoritarianism. While his ruling AKP is expected to retain the most votes, Erdogan will be weakened by any significant losses. These polls are also…
‘What the Kurds did has helped others in Turkey a lot’: Shamil Altan
Interview by a KT Correspondent in Istanbul: Shamil Altan, co-president of the Istanbul regional Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) spoke to a KT correspondent on the eve of Turkey’s critical municipal elections. He discussed the election campaign in Turkey and Kurdistan and said there is a danger, in the current state crisis, that the army will…
