Two deputies from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) will appear on the state-run Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) on Tuesday evening to make a campaign speech for an upcoming referendum, with the party saying it finds it “hard to believe.”
TRT has long been criticized for acting like the mouthpiece of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and giving little or limited airtime to opposition parties.
HDP spokesperson Osman Baydemir and deputy Hüda Kaya will appear on TRT 1 and TRT Haber at 8 p.m. to make a 20-minute speech as part of their party’s referendum campaign.
Announcing the news from its Twitter account on Monday, the party said: “It is hard to believe, but we will be on TRT tomorrow evening.”
According to referendum legislation, every political party in Parliament has the right to make a campaign speech on TRT.
In the referendum, which will be held on April 16, Turkey will vote on a constitutional reform package that will introduce an executive presidency if approved.
The AKP, backed by the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), pushed through the legislation that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan says will bring the strong leadership needed to prevent a return of the fragile coalition governments of the past.
The Republican People’s Party (CHP) and HDP fear the reform will fuel authoritarianism and therefore object to the amendments.