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.
Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman and presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C).
Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman and presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C), Turkey's Rights Democracy Party (HDP) co-chairs Pervin Buldan (L) and Mithat Sancar (R) hold a press conference after a meeting at parliament in Ankara on March 20, 2023. - ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images
Ezgi Akin headshot (new)
Ezgi Akin
@ezgi_akin

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. 

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