Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party won’t field challenger to Erdogan, boosting opposition’s chances
The pro-Kurdish HDP announced that it will not field a candidate in the May 14 presidential elections and will run under the banner of the Green Left Party to circumvent a potential closure and political ban that it faces.
ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is facing the most united front against him in his two-decade rule after the country’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) announced Wednesday that it would not field a candidate in the May 14 presidential election.
Flanked by the leaders of HDP-allied leftist parties, HDP co-chair Pervin Buldan explained their decision, citing a “historical responsibility” in the fateful polls.
“We are facing a historic turning point that will shape the future of the country and society. … We declare here that we will not nominate a candidate to run in the presidential elections,” said Buldan.
She made no mention of Turkey's main opposition candidate Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu's name, but she signaled that their decision is aimed at supporting him.
