HDP aims to win 100 seats in parliamentary elections

Selahattin Demirtas, imprisoned former co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), underlined in a tweet on Thursday that the party aims to win 100 seats in the coming parliamentary elections on 14 May.

Playing on the Turkish word "yuz" which means both "hundred" and "face," he said:

"Friends, the Green Left party expects us to provide them with 100, what do you say? Are we going to provide them with 100? :) Our new 100 [indicating both 100 deputies and face] in the parliament, the Green Left Party."

Under his tweet Demirtas posted the emblem of HDP's sister party Green Left, under which HDP will compete because of the risk posed by a possible court ban on the party before the elections.

HDP co-chair Mithat Sancar earlier announced on Wednesday their decision to compete not as HDP but as Green Left Party. The decision was taken right after the Constitutional Court rejected HDP's demand for the postponement of the court's decision till after the elections.

Sancar was the second party official on Thursday to say during a live broadcast that they are aiming to win "at least 100 seats" in the coming parliamentary elections, following HDP deputy Garo Paylan who said minutes ago in another live broadcast that their objective is "100 seats in the parliament" and that they are likely to receive 15% of the popular vote.

HDP is accused by the prosecution in the closure case of "providing space for the activities of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)."