Shafaq News / Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), a left-leaning party known for its support of the Kurds and its allies, dubbed "kingmaker" in Turkey, called on Friday for a vote in favor of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the primary opponent of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the upcoming Turkish presidential elections scheduled for May 14th, describing them as "the most important in Turkey's history."
This announcement comes with one of the largest coalitions in Turkey, tipping the scales in favor of the opposition candidate and complicating Erdogan's path to a new term. The HDP had given implicit support to Kılıçdaroğlu at the end of March, declaring that it would not nominate anyone from its ranks for the presidential elections.
The Work and Freedom Alliance, dominated by the HDP, Turkey's third political force, stated in a release, "In these historic elections, we call on the Turkish people to vote for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the presidential elections."
The party's co-chair Mithat Sancar said in an interview published by the Sozcu newspaper on Friday that the upcoming elections "are the most important in Turkey's history," and added, "that's why we decided to support Kılıçdaroğlu."
The People's Democratic Party, whose candidate for the presidential elections in 2018 ranked third with 8.4% of the votes, is considered a "kingmaker" in Turkish presidential elections. The Turkish government accuses this party of being linked to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, a "terrorist" group classified by Ankara and its Western allies.
The party's key figure, Selahattin Demirtas, has been imprisoned since the end of 2016 on charges of "terrorist propaganda." Our goals align.
The Kurds have faced suppression campaigns under successive secular governments, which contributed to the rise of Erdogan's Justice and Development Party to power two decades ago. Erdogan lifted linguistic and cultural restrictions imposed on the Kurds and attempted to end their struggle for an independent state in southeast Turkey through negotiations.
However, the collapse of these negotiations in 2015 was followed by a wave of violence and a suppression campaign launched by the government against Kurdish groups. Erdogan's government has imprisoned thousands of activists and replaced elected Kurdish mayors with government officials they trust.
The People's Democratic Party, which supports the Kurds, faces a threat of a ban and will present candidates for the legislative elections to be held on May 14th under the banner of the left-wing Green Party.
Sancar stated, "We have two strategic goals: the first is to end the one-man rule system, and the second is to become the most influential force in the democratic transformation." He added, "Our goals align with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's goals of ending the one-man rule system."
The People's Democratic Party aims to pave the way for the opposition to win from the first round, according to Sancar. Polls show that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who heads a coalition of six opposition parties, is in a good position to face Erdogan.
Erdogan, who is infected with a gastrointestinal virus, suspended his election campaign activities for the third consecutive day on Friday, 16 days before the presidential and legislative elections. According to the program announced by the Turkish presidency, the 69-year-old president will only speak via video in the evening from the presidential palace in Ankara at the inauguration of a bridge in Adana (south).
Erdogan canceled all his commitments since Tuesday evening, including an event that was eagerly anticipated, which was the inauguration of Turkey's first nuclear power plant. On Thursday, the Turkish president had to speak via a video link at the inauguration of the Akkuyu plant in southern Turkey, and he appeared tired, in his first live appearance on TV in about 48 hours.
Afternoon on Thursday, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced that Erdogan is suffering from inflammation of the stomach and intestines. He said, "He is in good condition. The effects of gastrointestinal inflammation have decreased. He will resume his program as soon as possible."
However, this illness does not come at an opportune time for the country's president, especially since 3.4 million Turks have registered to participate in the voting process outside the country and started casting their ballots on Thursday.