HDP Co-Chair Pervin Buldan confirmed in her opening speech presenting the party’s election campaign in Amed that “Selahattin Demirtaş is the HDP presidential candidate. As you all know, he is held hostage in Edirne F Type Prison”.

During the presentation of the HDP campaign, a message from the newly confirmed candidate Demirtaş was read.

Writing from Edirne F Type prison, Demirtaş wrote: "Everyone should get actively involved in the election campaign, and I will try to support you with the little opportunities I have here. We we'll be the most beautiful surprise of the 24 June elections”. 

In his message Demirtaş also said: 

“My dear friends, I greet all of you heartily. I think when this message is read to you, you will have declared me as candidate to the Presidency of the Republic with the promise of a new life, a new hope and a new future. 

First of all, I would like to express my great honor at being selected. Although I am being held in a F-type cell as a political hostage, you have given me this duty believing that I can fulfill this challenging mission”.

Demirtaş added: “I want to express my deepest gratitude to the HDP and to all my people who are trusting and believing in me, showing their friendship, solidarity and support.

Despite all the repression, threats and attacks, the millions of people who give me this opportunity showed that a cell to jail 6 million people has not yet been invented. I have been breathing with you in this cell for a year and a half. I have tried to represent here the values ​​of freedom, democracy, equality, justice and peace on your behalf.
Almost every day, my love and confidence continue to increase despite the repeated, insulting, defamatory campaigns against me”. 

The freshly nominated HDP President candidate added:

“There is no doubt that this will be a tough and unfair election campaign. But we won’t step back. Day and night, you will be going home after home, street after street, village after village and you will explain not about me, but about the beauty of the new life. You will explain how beautiful beautiful it is to live in peace, together, in a brotherly and equal way.
You will go around calm and determined to explain everyone how we can make a difference. You have to convince the oppressed, women victims, exploited workers, not just Kurds, but Alevis, Armenians, Sunnis, Circassians, Arabs, Roma, and more, those who are insulted every day, who are ignored every day. Everyone should hear from you once again that this robbery, the plunder, the corruption, the the bribery can be stopped”.

Demirtaş pointed out that “in this short election campaign everyone should actively work. I will try to support you from here despite the little opportunities I have. You will see, we will be the most beautiful surprise of the 24 June elections. If you are asked: 'Who will you support in the second round', say with great confidence: 'We will support Demirtaş in the second round’. Believe it and make it happen. During the campaign, do not neglect to embrace our citizens from all parties. CHP, AKP, MHP, Good Party, Saadet Party, Hüdapar. You will be the ones who put an end to the polarization that makes living together hell. This is more valuable than winning the election for us. Never forget that. Never allow provocations”.

Demirtaş continued by saying: “Prepare yourself for the most joyful, most enthusiastic victory. We are moving decisively and faithfully towards the establishment of a life of trust, peace and prosperity.

We trust ourselves, our staff. I want everyone to be sure that we will build a great democracy, walking hand in hand with the people.

All other political party executives, who pretend we are not there, and who are trying to leave us under the threshold, will be ashamed of these attitudes. Because the HDP, which you try to exclude and destroy, has already made its greatest alliance with oppressed peoples. There is now one true alternative to the two existing alliances. And this alternative is the HDP. Get on the road HDP! 

Finally, I want to thank all my people, my colleagues, the parties, non-governmental organizations and movements for their support. 

Now, I invite everybody to start the election campaign. We will win, we will win. Believe it and make this happen. On behalf of all the politicians in prison, I convey to you my deepest love and respect”.