The parliamentary main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) nominee Muharrem İnce begin the presidential campaign amid discussions on possible alliances with right-wing voters and Kurdish political movement.
İnce will hold an election campaign rally in the southeastern province of Hakkari, where pro-Kurdish HDP had won 83 percent of the vote in last general elections in 2015.
İnce’s first plan was visiting Diyarbakır, the biggest Kurdish city of the region and holding a rally there, however, the possibility of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the city on May 10 forced CHP’s candidate to change the schedule, local media reported.
İNCE WILL VISIT HDP CANDIDATE DEMİRTAŞ IN JAIL
İnce had previously posted on his official Twitter account that he will arrange a courtesy visit to all presidential candidates, including HDP’s candidate Selahattin Demirtaş, who is currently in Edirne Prison. “I will visit Mr Selahattin Demirtaş in prison,” İnce posted on May 6.
Turkish Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül has announced on May 8 that the government will allow İnce’s visit to Edirne Prison.
PLANS FOR SECOND-ROUND VOTING
Turkish presidential elections scheduled for June 24 will have second-round voting unless one of the candidates wins more than a half of the vote.
Ince’s “warm messages” is a part of his strategy as he seeks the support of Kurdish voters in case he challenge Erdoğan on second-round voting.
İnce has previously announced he will take “bold and courageous steps” to find a solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey if he is elected president in the early elections on June 24.
Kurdish politician Ahmet Türk, a veteran politician from HDP, stressed that Kurdish political movement is not in the opinion of boycott the elections on second-round and signalled support of the candidate who would challenge Erdoğan.
