Party of European Socialists express support for Kilicdaroglu
The Party of European Socialists (PES), the second largest group in the European Parliament, expressed support for Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the opposition's main presidential candidate in Turkey.
We are a month away from the Turkish elections, a key moment for people in #Turkey to stand against Erdoğan’s authoritarianism and for democracy & the separation of powers. We fully support the unity of the opposition parties behind @kilicdarogluk, a decent, compassionate leader. pic.twitter.com/dsbzmVZiRi
— PES ???????????? (@PES_PSE) April 14, 2023
In a tweet on Friday, it said:
"We are a month away from the Turkish elections, a key moment for people in Turkey to stand against Erdogan's authoritarianism and for democracy & the separation of powers. We fully support the unity of the opposition parties behind Kilicdaroglu, a decent, compassionate leader."
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in Turkey, under the leadership of Kilicdaroglu, and the pro-Kurdish People' Democratic Party (HDP) are members of PES. The two have the largest second and third parliamentary groups in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM).
Among member of PES are the Social Democratic Party of Germany, the Labour Party of Britain, the Socialist Party of France, the Socialist Workers' Party of Spain and the Democratic Party of Italy.
PES have 145 members from 26 European Union member states in the European Parliament.
While Kilicdaroglu is backed by a six-party opposition bloc in Turkey, HDP earlier announced that it will not field a presidential candidate, in apparent support for Kilicdaroglu at the presidential race on 14 May.
