“Dear friends. We can already see a bright future. We nurture our dreams and hopes with this good news. We are coming together to share our joy in Selahattin Demirtas’ candidacy for President. We are hoping that you can join us,” tweeted HDP, calling on their supporters to celebrate the “good news” at events in Diyarbakir and Istanbul on Friday.
Demirtas is currently in jail on terror-related charges that he denies. He is facing the possibility of a long prison term.
In January, he stepped down as co-chair of the party, saying he made the decision so that HDP can “meet the new period of political struggle more powerfully.”
Turkey will head to the polls in snap elections on June 24 – the first since a presidential system was adopted through constitutional amendments.
Demirtas, a charismatic politician who appealed to Kurds and leftists, garnered 9.76 percent of the vote in presidential elections in 2014.
Opposition parties are scrambling to form a strong alternative to the ruling AK party of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Five Kurdish parties have formed the Kurdistan Coalition, they announced on Wednesday in Diyarbakir.
The five are: the Kurdistan Islamic Movement (Freedom Movement), Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK), Kurdistan Democratic Party – North (PDK-Bakur), Kurdistan Democratic Platform (PDK), and Kurdistan Socialist Party (PSK).
The word ‘Kurdistan’ is banned in the Turkish parliament.
They have also been in touch with other Kurdish parties to broaden the coalition.
The leader of PAK Mustafa Ozcelik told Rudaw they have visited the Kurdish-Islamic Free Cause Party (Huda Par), handing over a letter to leader Zekeriya Yapicioglu "in which we had presented our principles for the elections.”
Also on Wednesday, four opposition parties – Republican People’s Party (CHP), IYI (Good) Party, Saadet (Felicity) Party, and Democratic Party (DP) – announced a coalition called the Nation Alliance.
A HDP official criticized them for excluding their party.
The opposition coalition includes parties from across the political spectrum, Filiz Kerestecioglu, deputy head of HDP’s bloc in the parliament, noted in a press conference. “But today we see they want to form a coalition that excludes HDP.”
Opposition parties are hesitant to be seen working with HDP, which is pro-Kurdish and is accused of having ties with the PKK.
Erdogan’s AKP has formed the Popular Coalition with the nationalist MHP.
Updated at 9:22 pm
