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HDP TOPS MINORITY CANDIDATES LIST AS ETHNICALLY DIVERSE APPLY TO BE DEPUTIES
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 9 2015
As esteemed members of ethnic minority groups other than the Kurdish
population have announced their bids to become deputies with various
parties ahead of the June 7 general elections, the highest number of
minority applicants have been registered with the pro-Kurdish Peoples'
Democratic Party (HDP).
Turkish-Armenian Garo Paylan, who serves as a board representative
for the YeÅ~_ilköy Armenian Grammar School and is a Central Executive
Committee member for the HDP, has submitted his application to serve
as a member of Parliament. Nıvart Bakırcıoglu, who previously
ran for the mayoral seat of the Bakırköy Municipality, has also
submitted her bid for Parliament with the HDP.
Talin ErguneÅ~_ is the only Armenian to have announced her candidature
to become a deputy for the main opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP). But she must first pass the party's primary elections to be
held across 55 electoral districts throughout the country. ErguneÅ~_
will have to beat plenty of candidates before she can consider
entering Parliament because the CHP will submit 15 candidates for
the three polling districts of Ä°stanbul and ErguneÅ~_ will be up
against almost 3,000 CHP candidates to become one of those Ä°stanbul
deputy candidates.
Of the 6,223 applicants hoping to become deputies for the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) only two come from
ethnic minority groups. One is Markar Esayan, a columnist for the
pro-government dailies Sabah and Yeni Å~^afak; the other is Herman
Baliyan, who serves as the vice president of the historic Yedikule
Surp Pırgic Armenian Hospital.
Other minorities, including Syriacs, Yezidis and Arabs, have also
applied to be candidates in the general elections, according to news
reports published by the Armenian weekly newspaper Agos. The following
four have applied to represent the HDP:
Tuma Celik, editor-in-chief at the Syriac newspaper Sabro, and Aynur
Ozgun, coordinator of the Syriac Women's Center, both applied to
represent the Syriac community in areas such as Mardin, Å~^ırnak
and Diyarbakır. Politician Feleknas Uca, who served 10 years in the
European Parliament, has applied to represent the Yezidi community.
While, Mehmet Ali Aslan, founding chairman of the Mhallami Association,
the first Mhallami organization, will also be running under the HDP
ticket. Mhalmites are a Semitic people originating from the Arab
tribe of Banu Hanifa.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_hdp-tops-minority-candidates-list-as-ethnically-diverse-apply-to-be-deputies_374762.html
Today's Zaman, Turkey
March 9 2015
As esteemed members of ethnic minority groups other than the Kurdish
population have announced their bids to become deputies with various
parties ahead of the June 7 general elections, the highest number of
minority applicants have been registered with the pro-Kurdish Peoples'
Democratic Party (HDP).
Turkish-Armenian Garo Paylan, who serves as a board representative
for the YeÅ~_ilköy Armenian Grammar School and is a Central Executive
Committee member for the HDP, has submitted his application to serve
as a member of Parliament. Nıvart Bakırcıoglu, who previously
ran for the mayoral seat of the Bakırköy Municipality, has also
submitted her bid for Parliament with the HDP.
Talin ErguneÅ~_ is the only Armenian to have announced her candidature
to become a deputy for the main opposition Republican People's Party
(CHP). But she must first pass the party's primary elections to be
held across 55 electoral districts throughout the country. ErguneÅ~_
will have to beat plenty of candidates before she can consider
entering Parliament because the CHP will submit 15 candidates for
the three polling districts of Ä°stanbul and ErguneÅ~_ will be up
against almost 3,000 CHP candidates to become one of those Ä°stanbul
deputy candidates.
Of the 6,223 applicants hoping to become deputies for the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) only two come from
ethnic minority groups. One is Markar Esayan, a columnist for the
pro-government dailies Sabah and Yeni Å~^afak; the other is Herman
Baliyan, who serves as the vice president of the historic Yedikule
Surp Pırgic Armenian Hospital.
Other minorities, including Syriacs, Yezidis and Arabs, have also
applied to be candidates in the general elections, according to news
reports published by the Armenian weekly newspaper Agos. The following
four have applied to represent the HDP:
Tuma Celik, editor-in-chief at the Syriac newspaper Sabro, and Aynur
Ozgun, coordinator of the Syriac Women's Center, both applied to
represent the Syriac community in areas such as Mardin, Å~^ırnak
and Diyarbakır. Politician Feleknas Uca, who served 10 years in the
European Parliament, has applied to represent the Yezidi community.
While, Mehmet Ali Aslan, founding chairman of the Mhallami Association,
the first Mhallami organization, will also be running under the HDP
ticket. Mhalmites are a Semitic people originating from the Arab
tribe of Banu Hanifa.
http://www.todayszaman.com/national_hdp-tops-minority-candidates-list-as-ethnically-diverse-apply-to-be-deputies_374762.html