 approves her candidacy, the Artı Gerçek news website reported.){kind=link}
Başak Demirtaş, the wife of jailed Kurdish politician Selahattin Demirtaş, has said she may consider running for mayor of İstanbul if the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) approves her candidacy, the Artı Gerçek news website reported.
The DEM Party has not yet made a decision about whether to field its own candidate in İstanbul or to support incumbent mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), as Kurdish voters did in the 2019 election, playing a significant role in ending the years-long Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule in Turkey’s largest city.
Başak Demirtaş told Artı Gerçek that the DEM Party has not yet made a decision about a İstanbul mayoral candidate, “but if the people want it and the party agrees,” she may consider running for mayor of İstanbul if she believes it will open the way for the improvement of democracy and peace in society.
She said in such a case, her candidacy would not be a strategic move aimed at helping another candidate win or lose but to win the election herself.
Başak Demirtaş reportedly made this statement after a visit to her husband Selahattin, who has been in prison on bogus terrorism charges since November 2016 and not released despite rulings of the European Court of Human Rights in his favor. Selahattin Demirtaş was the former co-chairperson of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) when he was arrested in a wave of mass arrests targeting Kurdish politicians following a failed coup attempt in 2016.
If the DEM Party fields its own candidate in İstanbul, it could reduce the chances of İmamoğlu claiming another victory since he will be deprived of the critical support of Kurdish voters that he had in 2019.
Başak Demirtaş’s possible mayoral candidacy in İstanbul has led to claims that Demirtaş might be seeking the release of her husband from prison in return for helping the AKP to win back İstanbul by dividing the opposition vote.
Although their party was not included in an opposition bloc of six parties, Kurds also supported the candidacy of former CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu in the May presidential election, which ended with Kılıçdaroğlu’s defeat.
A secret deal made by Kılıçdaroğlu with a far-right party leader during the campaign that included pledges against Kurds led to resentment among Kurds when it came to public attention after the election, leading many of them to question their support of the party.
Kurds say they do not see sufficient support from the CHP for their demands regarding the expansion of their rights in return for their support for the party’s candidate in critical elections.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the Diyarbakır-based Rawest Research Center shows two-thirds of DEM Party voters, 69.6 percent, think their party should field its own mayoral candidate in İstanbul, while 25.5 percent of them are against it.
Rawest Araştırma olarak, İstanbul’da 9-12 Ocak tarihlerinde 1002 kişiyle görüşerek yaptığımız Kürt seçmen araştırmasının sonuçlarını paylaşıyoruz. pic.twitter.com/uvtDTABM2Y
— Rawest Araştırma (@RawestResearch) January 22, 2024
The survey, conducted January 9-12 on 1,002 Kurdish voters living in İstanbul, also revealed significant support for the candidacy of Başak Demirtaş for İstanbul mayor.
The support for Başak Demirtaş’s candidacy is 34.3 percent, according to the survey. Demirtaş is followed by Sırrı Süreyya Önder, a DEM Party lawmaker, who is supported by 26.5 percent of respondents.