AGRI, Turkey - The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) won a re-election in Turkey’s Agri province on Sunday, after its previous win in the March 30 local polls was challenged by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The reelection was scheduled after the AKP had alleged “irregularities” in the polls, in which the BDP’s Sirri Sakik had emerged as the winner.
“The BDP has won in Agri, and whoever does not accept the election results, they don’t want peace,” said Sakik, the candidate for Agri mayor, who is also a lawmaker for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), the sister party of the BDP.
According to preliminary results, Sakik won 51 percent of the vote in the eastern Kurdish city of Agri, near the Iranian border, ending AKP’s nearly decade-long rule in the Kurdish dominated province.
In the March 30 polls, Sakik won the municipality election in Agri by 10 votes, against AKP rival Hasan Arslan.
But the AKP alleged that its candidate had won, and ordered a recount. After 14 recounts did not change the results, the AKP demanded yet another tally. The BDP asked for an annulment and repeat election in Agri.
Over the last two months, the AKP had campaigned hard in Agri. Many cabinet ministers, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself, visited the province to campaign for the ruling party. The AKP promised multimillion dollar projects in Agri, provided its candidate would win.
BDP leader Selahattin Demirtas also held a rally last Friday in support of Sakik, who is known for his moderate views and persuasive rhetoric in Turkey.
In the last election, BDP was able to expand its municipal control to Bitlis and Mardin -- two more major provinces previously controlled by AKP. BDP’s win in Agri also adds to its influence: It may have become an important player in deciding Erdogan’s bid for the presidency in August.
The BDP is now officially in control of eight Kurdish-dominated provinces: Diyarbakir, Batman, Sirnak, Hakkari, Van, Igdir, Siirt and Dersim.
The BDP ran for the municipal elections for the first time in 2009, winning 99 small-town and city municipalities across Turkey. The Kurdish party won 5.7 percent of the national votes, which rose to 6.5 percent in the 2011 parliamentary elections.
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