HDP’s running with its own candidate is understandable, main opposition says

People’s Democratic Party’s (HDP) decision to run with its own candidate in the presidential elections is very understandable, main opposition CHP’s (Republican People’s Party) parliamentary group deputy chair Ozgur Ozel said.

“When considered the strength of the HDP, it is a party in a position to play a key role in the elections,” Ozel told Halk Tv on Monday, Diken reported.

HDP’s co-Chair Pervin Buldan on Saturday announced that her party will nominate its own candidate to run against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the first round of upcoming elections and the name of the candidate will be declared soon.

Turkey is facing presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for June at the latest. Six opposition parties the CHP who teamed up to restore a parliamentary system in Turkey, are also working on for putting forward a joint candidate in the presidential elections.

Turkish parliament’s second largest opposition HDP on the other hand announced earlier that it is open to negotiations over the idea of supporting a joint opposition candidate but will also consider putting forward its own candidate should its concerns over democracy were not addressed by the six-party bloc.

The six-party alliance also includes the nationalist Good Party (IYIP), the Islamist Felicity Party (SP), the Democrat Party (DP), former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s Future Party (GP) and ex-Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan’s Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA).