When the HDP said it will nominate a presidential candidate, new hope arose. A breathing space, the possibility of a new alternative for the people who are feeling stuck between the government and opposition alliances. The tens of thousands who attended the rally organized in Kartal by the HDP were the best answer that the alternative alliance proposed by the party represents a new hope.

Speaking to ANF, HDP Batman MP, Necdet Ipekyüz, said that the participation and enthusiasm seen in the Kartal rally proved once again that the Labor and Freedom Alliance will play an important role in the upcoming elections. Ipekyüz said: “Those who pretended not to see us should know that their calculations will turn up wrong. We will prove them wrong."

Ipekyüz responded to those speculating that announcing a candidate would actually "benefit the People's alliance", saying that “first of all, the ‘table for 6’ alliance [the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the nationalist Good Party, the conservative Islamist Felicity Party, the Future Party, the Democracy and Progress Party and the Democrat Party] should tell the people why they have not contacted us and why they did not take into account the voices coming from the fields of labor and freedom. They have adopted a very sectarian and arrogant language until today.”

'We are standing for a democratic republic'

Ipekyüz underlined the fact that elections in Turkey are generally seen as a competition between two alliances: one that will further develop the presidential system, and the other talking about restoring the parliamentary system. “We say that as we enter the centennial of the republic in Turkey, we are developing an alternative way that can solve the unsolvable problems. We are taking steps for a democratic republic so that what happened in the past won’t happen again."

'Those who are afraid spread fear'

Noting that they were of course exposed to great pressures while walking on this road, Ipekyüz said that the Constitutional Court (AYM) blocked his party’s aid, and that a case for closure is still ongoing. Ipekyüz said that the aggression against his party shows that they are on the right track and summarized the events with a Kurdish saying: “Those who are afraid spread fear. Those who continue to apply this pressure on us should remember that 6 parties have been closed so far, trustees have been appointed to municipalities, there have been arrests, but despite all this, our party has grown. The repression did not stop us nor our people, as the massive turnout in Kartal showed. We are on the right track.”

'Unity is the antidote to polarization'

Ipekyüz underlined that “today is the day to speak out”, and called on those who are still undecided and confused to “unite. Today is the day to stand side by side, shoulder to shoulder. Hand in hand. The antidote to polarization is unity. We are ready to solve real problems in this country. We are the solution. We are the third way and our door is open.”