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The chief public prosecutor of Turkey’s Court of Appeals will address to the country’s Constitutional Court on 10 January 2023 in relation to the case that seeks the closure of the country’s pro-Kurdish party.
The Constitutional Court in June 2021 accepted an indictment that demands losing the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) as well as a political ban for nearly 500 HDP members, including high-profile figures over alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Turkey’s third-largest party in parliament submitted evidence to the Constitutional Court in April 2022. While the court’s rapporteur is preparing a report for court judges based on submitted evidence, both the chief prosecutor and the HDP are allowed to submit additional evidence.
Following the chief prosecutor’s address to the Constitutional Court, the court will set a date for the oral defence of the HDP, Turkey’s state news agency Anadolu reported. Following that, the rapporteur will finalise his report on the accusations and the court’s president Zühtü Arslan will set the date for the judges to start examining the merits of the case.
A two-thirds majority, or votes of the 10 of 15 members of the court are needed to close a political party according to the article 69 of the Turkish Constitution.
A possible decision to close the HDP ahead of upcoming elections in 2023 might have a profound affect on the political landscape of the country.
The Kurdish votes are expected to play a vital role in 2023 presidential elections, as the opposition seeks to remove Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from office.
The HDP has outlived all parties of the Kurdish political movement that have been established since 1990. From 1990 to 2009, seven pro-Kurdish parties were closed by the Constitutional Court, while two others abolished themselves.
Following the collapse of peace negotiations between the Turkish state and the PKK, the government launched a massive crackdown against Kurdish politicians. Some 4,000 HDP members, including former co-chairs and lawmakers, have been imprisoned, while elected HDP mayors have been replaced by government-appointed officials.
