Both political alliances will need us on their side in elections: HDP

HDP deputy leader Tayip Temel has said that both political alliances in Turkey will need the party on their side since its votes are above 15 percent. "As the HDP, we're neither ruling out joining alliances nor are super eager," Temel said.

Sunday September 26 2021 01:42 pm

Duvar English

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) deputy leader Tayip Temel has said that both of the political alliances in Turkey need the HDP since its votes are above 15 percent.

Speaking to the daily Cumhuriyet, Temel said that the HDP has a strong position in Turkey's political arena.

"Even though it's said that we're losing votes, our campaigns and research show that the HDP gets over 15 percent of the votes. Both the Nation Alliance and the People's Alliance will need the HDP on their side," he said.

"The HDP will play a decisive role," Temel added.

There are two political alliances in Turkey, with the Nation Alliance consisting of opposition parties and the People's Alliance being the ruling bloc. The HDP is not part of any alliances.

Temel said that the party doesn't know whether the opposition parties have agreed on a joint presidential candidate to compete against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"We know what the public knows too," he said.

Commenting on the opposition's promise to return to a parliamentary system, Temel said such a move won't solve all problems on its own.

"We saw death in the presidential system. This one-man regime showed us death. However, Turkey had the Kurdish issue and problems in democracy, justice and transparency also in the parliamentary system. These weren't able to be solved in the parliamentary system either," Temel said.

"The problems can be solved by democratizing the regime and changing it. Making Turkey go back to its past order won't provide a solution. The debates surrounding the regime can of course be solved by parliament assuming a role," he noted.

Temel also explained the HDP's stance regarding alliances.

"As the HDP, we're neither ruling out joining alliances nor are super eager," Temel said.

"We support democracy, justice and transparency in politics," he added.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, meanwhile, said that the HDP pursues a "different policy" in terms of alliances.

"We understand that they want to compete independently in the elections. I'm not interested in the details of their understanding," Kılıçdaroğlu told Cumhuriyet.