Demirtas rejects AKP-HudaPar Alliance can win Kurdish votes

Imprisoned Kurdish leader Selahattin Demirtas, the former co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP,) dismissed claims that the ruling AKP's (Justice and Development Party) alliance with the Islamist Huda-Par (Free Cause Party) was done in order to manipulate the HDP's base rather than to gain Kurdish votes.

In a written interview with Turkish Halk TV. Demirtas said, "It is not even worth considering for us. Our base and Kurdish voters will not be influenced in the slightest."

Huda-Par was founded in 2012 with links to the outlawed Kurdish Hezbollah. In the early 1990s, the group began to carry out a campaign of terror against Kurdish political opponents, intellectuals, and activists including abductions, torture, and executions.

“The people know who is who from their bitter experiences. The rest are empty and unnecessary debates," Demirtas said.

Regarding the decision by the Constitutional Court to reject the HDP's request to postpone their verbal defense until after the elections, Demirtas said, "It is impossible to predict what the Constitutional Court will do because they are not acting according to the law. They are making decisions that could be seen as interference in the political process and elections. It is truly a sad and tragic situation for the highest judicial body responsible for protecting the constitution to be complicit in its violation. Of course, there will be certain difficulties with running in the election under the banner of the Green Left Party, but these can be overcome quickly. Our voters are aware of the situation and will embrace the Green Left Party. I do not think that even a single one of our votes will go to waste."

When asked what President Erdogan could do to win Kurdish votes, Demirtas responded, "Erdogan has no surprise to offer the Kurdish voters. There are only 50 days left until the election. What can be done to make the Kurdish people forget what Erdogan has done to them for the past 7-8 years? For example, we, the elected representatives, have been held in a cell for almost seven years on baseless charges at Erdogan's orders. Will the people forget this insult and all of the attacks that have been carried out against their will in the next 50 days? Is that possible? The AKP and Erdogan are open to the Kurds in their attacks, but they have nothing to offer them."