HDP presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş said that the Kurds have seen the true face of the AKP and added that , that Erdoğan, like old products is “about to expire.” 

The hostage HDP presidential candidate answered through his lawyers, the questions sent by French German television ARTE in writing.

Demirtaş remarked that the AKP decided to call early elections because “the economic crisis is deepening by the day. But the President with this elections is also seek to change the system. He wants to change the system before economic crisis hits the country the hardest. He is trying to get full control.”

ARTE asked whether Demirtaş thought to get the majority of Kurdish votes. He replied: 

“Yes, we will get not only the vote of the Kurds, but also those of other sections of the society. There is a big distancing from the AKP. Kurds in particular have seen the real face of the AKP, they have experiencing it on their own skin. By allying with a racist party, the AKP has lost the support of Kurds.

We will see this on 24 of June. The last decisions to move the polls indicate that the AKP has already embarked on the process of designing the election results in the Kurdish provinces. The HDP and other opposition parties will definitely take the necessary measures to protect the party and the electorate.”

Which kind of Turkey?

Talking about the program and the kind of Turkey the HDP promotes, Demirtaş said: 

"Turkey needs a democracy program for its multi-identity, multi-cultural, multi-faith, multi-lingual character. Our program promises this. We guarantee the fundamental rights of citizens, freedoms, equality, independence of the judiciary, women. We will support the writing of a constitution which will guarantee the freedom of every being, from animal rights to environment rights. 

Our program strengthen democratization and local governments. We want to create employment and to stop the inflated economy dependent on money from outside. We promote a policy of peace.

We will solve the Kurdish question which is Turkey's fundamental issue, through peaceful means. We will speed up the process to get Turkey a full member of the European Union."

Second round of presidential election

Asked whether he would make any alliance with opposition parties if he is selected for the second round of the election, Demirtaş said: “We will think about that when the time comes. Everything depends on how we do on the election, the results are linked to the second round. However, there is no doubt that every vote given to us in the first or second tour is a vote for a democratic Turkey and for peace to win.”

HDP presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş was then asked: “Will President Erdoğan lose? And if he does, would he accept the decision?"

Demirtaş replied: “Erdoğan lost the elections on 7 June 2015 and did not accept the results deciding to call new election. He actually lost his referendum on 16 April 2016, but the Supreme Election Board said he ”won". My point is that Erdoğan has begun losing elections long ago, but he is having trouble accepting it. However, time is up for him. There is no choice but to respect the results. I think he knows that himself and he will respect the outcome.”