The voting for the upcoming general election in Turkey is continuing in Cologne in its 17th day. Voting commenced on 8 May and is to end on 31st. It has been reported that participation in the elections is still lower than targeted by all the parties, but there has been a relative increase in recent days. There are a total of 128,275 voters in Cologne and its surroundings who can vote in the Turkish consulate in Cologne; however, only 32 thousand have voted so far.

The AKP was not able to reach its target in Cologne and Germany in general as many people who previously voted for the AKP, have said they voted for the MHP or Saadet Party in this election.

It is also observed that many people who previously voted for the CHP, voted for the HDP. Primarily the Alevi population living in Cologne and its surroundings voted for the HDP as the Alevi organisations made a strategic alliance with the HDP on account of the HDP’s embracing all the communities in a democratic way.

Another factor is the performance of the HDP’s co-chair, Selahattin Demirtaş, who is closely followed by people living in Europe, while the youth in Europe perceive HDP as the actor capable of creating a new life in Turkey. The people in the streets and cafes are only talking about the HDP and the 10% electoral threshold.

Many people who are not supporters of the HDP also say that they will vote for the HDP in this election to get rid of the AKP and to destroy the ten percent threshold brought in by the military coup. Many people told ANF that the only way to weaken the AKP is HDP’s going over the threshold and being represented in parliament, despite some still holding the nationalist discourse and keeping their distance from the HDP.

When we told them that many Kurdish people vote for the Turkish parties, they said: “We cannot betray our honour and our country” although it is the Kurds who were not allowed to use their mother tongue and whose right to life in their own lands is being violated.

Despite this fact, many Kurds unfortunately continue to vote for the system parties. Another striking fact was that a member of the election committee of the AKP in Cologne and the CHP’s officer at the ballot box were Kurds. This also tells the situation of the Kurds.

Kurds are also members of the three biggest parties in Turkey, although it is only the HDP which campaigns for the rights of the Kurds.