HDP’s Demirtaş: We are heading for victory

The HDP presidential candidate vowed victory at 24 June elections.

In an interview with Meltem Akyol published in the Evrensel newspaper, HDP Presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş spoke about the refusal of the court to free him and the sentences of Idris Baluken and Abdullah Zeydan and called them 'extrajudicial execution'.

Demirtaş added that “after the victory of democracy on 24 June those sentences will be reverted”.

Demirtaş said that the HDP candidates’ list has been prepared in a participatory way to ensure the inclusion all identity, belief, gender and oppressed classes.

Despite the limited resources, Demirtaş said that the HDP’s list of candidates is the most colourful, and variegated. "We need to establish alliances with the democratic forces and we need these alliances to be permanent and go beyond the elections. The HDP list represents the diversity of Turkey in the best way”.

Emphasizing that AKP's list is colourless, Demirtaş said that just by looking at that list one would understand the kind of regime the AKP is after.

We’ll do better than in 2015

Demirtaş said that the current atmosphere, when it comes to the elections, is similar to that of the election process of 7 June 2015 for the HDP.

“Even though it is a little late, - said the HDP Presidential candidate - the HDP is quickly catching up. As far as I can tell, there is great excitement and enthusiasm ... There is great expectation to see the HDP administration at work. I'm sure we will do better than we did on 7 June 2015".

No television presence

Demirtaş criticised TRT television saying: “During the 2015 elections the HDP got two hours television broadcast, but this time we haven’t been given a minute. It is a total violation of our rights”.

Stating that Turkey is living a deep economic crisis and that this will be one of the main determining factors in the elections, Demirtaş said that the people are waiting impatiently to put the government on the stand, “this government which made them poor by the day”, he said.

Kurdish question is important

Regarding CHP’s (Republican People’s Party) presidential candidate Muharrem İnce's statements about the Kurdish issue, the HDP presidential candidate said:

“It is important that the Kurdish question be discussed at all levels and that ideas about the search for solutions be put on the table. Everybody should encourage a political solution. It is not enough to use this as an election tactic, we need to sincerely search for it”.

Missing the crowded rallies

Demirtaş said he is missing the crowded election rallies, but added: “This country has already seen people going from Çankaya to prison. This time, for the first time, the route will be inverse: from a F Type Prison to Çankaya”.