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PRO-KURDISH ELECTION CANDIDATE: A GRASSROOTS VOICE FOR THE UNDERREPRESENTED TURKISH POPULATION
Journal of Turkish Weekly
July 10 2014
10 July 2014
JTW News Analysis, Julie Bogoslovsky
Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party - the People's Democratic Party (HDP)
- officially announced on June 30th its nomination of Selahattin
DemirtaÅ~_ as its presidential candidate for elections scheduled
to take place in August. He will be up against Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the joint candidate of the
Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP).
DemirtaÅ~_ was raised in a Kurdish and Sunni family in an eastern
province of Anatolia. He was elected deputy of Hakkari in 2007 and
now strives to take part in national politics. He is a prominent
pro-Kurdish figure.
The Kurds, a distinct ethnic group of the Sunni Muslim people,
represent an estimated 20 percent of Turkey's 76 million population,
thus numbering around 15 million people. As their representative,
DemirtaÅ~_ pledged to accelerate the ongoing peace process and solve
the Kurdish issue under his presidency. This process is currently one
of the main platform issues put forward by Erdogan to garner Kurdish
votes, which are considered to be a key to winning the polls.
"Under my presidency, Turkey will solve the Kurdish issue by putting
all concerns aside," DemirtaÅ~_ affirmed while also emphasizing that
he would not be a candidate only for the Kurds.
According to Hatice AltınıÅ~_ık, HDP deputy chairwoman responsible
for "people and their beliefs", "when you listen to DemirtaÅ~_,
I believe you hear he is also in support of the working class,
the oppressed. So being a Kurd is just one of the identities around
you. We aim to unite the left in Turkey. Many unsatisfied CHP voters
will have a voice now."
DemirtaÅ~_ is also looking to the Alevi vote. At the Sivas ceremony
on the 2nd of July, Aydin Deniz, the general secretary of the Hubyar
Sultan Association, said, "We support DemirtaÅ~_ because he was the
only candidate who voiced the need to abolish the Religious Affairs
Directorate, along with our other needs. DemirtaÅ~_ was the only
political party leader who came to Sivas. That takes courage." This
community is, now, waiting for a significant gesture from the
politicians actors.
However, the Alevis are not the only minority playing a role in
DemirtaÅ~_'s political campaign. Tatyos Bebek, a member of the Armenian
community said, "DemirtaÅ~_ is one of us. We are the underrepresented
and politically mistreated. He represents all these groups. He accepts
our differences and struggles to find ways to coexist in harmony. In
our quest to be equal citizens in Turkey, I support him."
The HDP candidate unites diverse groups whose common denominator
is underrepresentation. For example, on the 30th of June during the
municipal elections, five LGBT candidates were nominated to the HDP's
list. Going further than just supporting them, the HDP has also brought
various groups into the political process, forcing other parties on
the left to gradually change their platforms.
The leftist party is also seeking parity: The HDP and its sister
organization, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), had decided that
after the last municipal race, each seat would be filled jointly by
one man and one woman. Such an arrangement is not possible for the
presidential race but has clearly shown the leanings of the party
toward equal rights.
A campaign manifesto will be unveiled on July 15th, announced the
HDP co-chairman: "In it, we will state what kind of Turkey we dream
about". If elected, DemirtaÅ~_ also aims to create two "advising
councils" - one composed of women and the other of disabled people.
The presidential elections, scheduled for August 10th, will be the
first time Turkey's president has been elected by direct popular vote.
The fact that the Kurdish candidate is one of the three candidates is
a huge step for the Turkish Republic. While it seems to be a two-horse
race between the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development party
and the joint coalition candidate of the CHP and MHP, the performance
of DemirtaÅ~_ could be important in determining whether the elections
will go to a second round on the 24th of August.
10 July 2014 Journal of Turkish Weekly
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/169004/pro-kurdish-election-candidate-a-grassroots-voice-for-the-underrepresented-turkish-population.html
Journal of Turkish Weekly
July 10 2014
10 July 2014
JTW News Analysis, Julie Bogoslovsky
Turkey's main pro-Kurdish party - the People's Democratic Party (HDP)
- officially announced on June 30th its nomination of Selahattin
DemirtaÅ~_ as its presidential candidate for elections scheduled
to take place in August. He will be up against Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the joint candidate of the
Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP).
DemirtaÅ~_ was raised in a Kurdish and Sunni family in an eastern
province of Anatolia. He was elected deputy of Hakkari in 2007 and
now strives to take part in national politics. He is a prominent
pro-Kurdish figure.
The Kurds, a distinct ethnic group of the Sunni Muslim people,
represent an estimated 20 percent of Turkey's 76 million population,
thus numbering around 15 million people. As their representative,
DemirtaÅ~_ pledged to accelerate the ongoing peace process and solve
the Kurdish issue under his presidency. This process is currently one
of the main platform issues put forward by Erdogan to garner Kurdish
votes, which are considered to be a key to winning the polls.
"Under my presidency, Turkey will solve the Kurdish issue by putting
all concerns aside," DemirtaÅ~_ affirmed while also emphasizing that
he would not be a candidate only for the Kurds.
According to Hatice AltınıÅ~_ık, HDP deputy chairwoman responsible
for "people and their beliefs", "when you listen to DemirtaÅ~_,
I believe you hear he is also in support of the working class,
the oppressed. So being a Kurd is just one of the identities around
you. We aim to unite the left in Turkey. Many unsatisfied CHP voters
will have a voice now."
DemirtaÅ~_ is also looking to the Alevi vote. At the Sivas ceremony
on the 2nd of July, Aydin Deniz, the general secretary of the Hubyar
Sultan Association, said, "We support DemirtaÅ~_ because he was the
only candidate who voiced the need to abolish the Religious Affairs
Directorate, along with our other needs. DemirtaÅ~_ was the only
political party leader who came to Sivas. That takes courage." This
community is, now, waiting for a significant gesture from the
politicians actors.
However, the Alevis are not the only minority playing a role in
DemirtaÅ~_'s political campaign. Tatyos Bebek, a member of the Armenian
community said, "DemirtaÅ~_ is one of us. We are the underrepresented
and politically mistreated. He represents all these groups. He accepts
our differences and struggles to find ways to coexist in harmony. In
our quest to be equal citizens in Turkey, I support him."
The HDP candidate unites diverse groups whose common denominator
is underrepresentation. For example, on the 30th of June during the
municipal elections, five LGBT candidates were nominated to the HDP's
list. Going further than just supporting them, the HDP has also brought
various groups into the political process, forcing other parties on
the left to gradually change their platforms.
The leftist party is also seeking parity: The HDP and its sister
organization, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), had decided that
after the last municipal race, each seat would be filled jointly by
one man and one woman. Such an arrangement is not possible for the
presidential race but has clearly shown the leanings of the party
toward equal rights.
A campaign manifesto will be unveiled on July 15th, announced the
HDP co-chairman: "In it, we will state what kind of Turkey we dream
about". If elected, DemirtaÅ~_ also aims to create two "advising
councils" - one composed of women and the other of disabled people.
The presidential elections, scheduled for August 10th, will be the
first time Turkey's president has been elected by direct popular vote.
The fact that the Kurdish candidate is one of the three candidates is
a huge step for the Turkish Republic. While it seems to be a two-horse
race between the candidate of the ruling Justice and Development party
and the joint coalition candidate of the CHP and MHP, the performance
of DemirtaÅ~_ could be important in determining whether the elections
will go to a second round on the 24th of August.
10 July 2014 Journal of Turkish Weekly
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news/169004/pro-kurdish-election-candidate-a-grassroots-voice-for-the-underrepresented-turkish-population.html