Before the upcoming local elections set for March, Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) is meeting people and introducing its candidates.

VAN

HDP Van Metropolitan Municipality co-mayor candidates Bedia Özgökçe Ertan and Mustafa Avcı met with the people in the districts of Saray and Özalp.

In the 24 June elections the HDP candidates got their highest result in Özalp, a district in Van, second only to Lice district of Amed (Diyarbakır).

Hundreds of people in the town welcomed the candidates at the entrance of the district. People accompanied candidates throughout the district.

HDP district candidates, Dilan Örenci and Yakup Almaç, shared the party’s election manifesto with the people.

In the district people met candidates with joy. Candidate Örenci commended the hunger strike action carried out by HDP Hakkari MP Leyla Güven on its 85th day.

"We will send trustees back to where they came from” said Örenci, adding that they were preparing for the elections with great enthusiasm.

HDP Van Metropolitan Municipality co-mayor candidate, Bedia Özgökçe Ertan, said “There is a people who oppose all kinds of oppression, violence and torture. They thought we were going to step back, yet we are still here.”

The co-mayors were welcomed with sympathy by the people in Saray.

Saray Municipal co-mayor candidate Caziye Duman said: “The people will respond to the psychological war waged against them with their own free will on the ballot box on 31 March. We will start a new period.”

HDP co-mayor candidate for Van Metropolitan Municipality Mustafa Avci said: “We will send the most beautiful message on 31 March elections. We did not bow against the oppression, we will not bow.”

Mardin

In Kızıltepe district, in the province of Mardin, the HDP introduced to people their Municipal co-mayor candidates Salih Kuday and Nilüfer Elik Yılmaz.

Many people joined the meeting organised at the party office.

Co-mayor candidate Yilmaz spoke about the HDP program for the city and underlined that trustees have been appointed after the democratically elected mayors were usurped. She recalled that the trustees closed many women's centers and paid tribute to 12-year-old Uğur Kaymaz, who was killed by 13 bullets  and whose statue was removed by the trustee who also changed the names of many Kurdish streets and places into Turkish.

Yılmaz said: “The trustee has attacked all our values. We know that our people will answer the way it must to their usurped will. We will show that this people does not want any trustee.”

Candidate Kuday added: “They forced trustees in the place legitimately won by our co-mayor candidates. Those co-mayors have been put in prison. Such an usurpation had not been seen in the world. We continued our work despite all this. We will reclaim what is ours.”

Following the event, the co-mayor candidates met with tradesmen and people in the city center.