HDP to nominate its candidate in 10 days

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Turkey has intensified work on naming its candidate for the upcoming presidential election and will announce a name in ten days, Haberturk columnist Nagihan Alci quoted HDP Deputy Chairman Tayip Temel as saying.

According to Alci, Meral Danis Bestas of the HDP also confirmed the timetable with a small excrement: "within 2-3 weeks," she said.

The timing of the nomination will most likely precede the nomination of the candidate of the bloc of six opposition parties, also known as the Table of Six, which is not expected to agree on a candidate before February.

HDP leaders have repeatedly called on the leaders of the Table of Six to begin an open dialog based on "principles rather than names," but the parties have failed to work with the HDP for fear of losing nationalist votes.

After opposition critics claimed the HDP helped the ruling bloc win the election, HDP co-chair Pervin Buldan said Friday: "The HDP was nobody's whipping boy and not a supporter of any 'table.'"

In an earlier statement, Temel said the party's decision to nominate a candidate "drew the curtain on an illusion show in which a tasteless illusionist tried to convince the audience that the HDP did not exist."

"The HDP and millions of its supporters blew the whistle on this tacky show," he said.