Turkey: Kurdish party will not present a candidate
The pro-Kurdish HDP will not field its own candidate in the Turkish presidential elections on 14 May. Without it being explicitly stated as such, this is seen as a move in support of the opposition Nation Alliance and its candidate Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The national press is divided in its reaction.
Putting pressure on the future government
The HDP is counting on an election victory of the opposition alliance so as to blackmail the future government and push through its own demands, warns the pro-government daily Sabah:
“The cessation of operations against the PKK. The withdrawal of Turkish troops from Syria and Iraq. The CHP had already signalled that it was ready to do this when it voted in parliament against in sending troops. If you still think: 'Oh no, the CHP cannot make such a promise', you are very wrong. ... The HDP knows very well that the Nation Alliance will depend on it if they win the elections. That is why it is important for them to topple Erdoğan.”
Kılıçdaroğlu would not be an autocrat like Erdoğan
The warnings put out by the government media fail to take into account how a coalition alliance would work, Karar explains:
“The opposition alliance would not be a structure in which Kılıçdaroğlu is handed 'turnkey' presidential power. The participants won't hand over their free will to Kılıçdaroğlu. There are written agreements. The party leaders have the opportunity to express themselves at every stage. In other words, the risk of Kılıçdaroğlu handing over the power of the Nation Alliance to the HDP is zero. Kılıçdaroğlu's presidency will not be like Erdoğan's. We should be more afraid of structures in which a single man has the power to impose his will.”