“If no change comes out of the ballot, it will be a disaster for the economy and democracy. There isn’t another third round! Let’s make Kılıçdaroğlu the president and let Turkey breathe. Go to the polls, give one vote for one breath,” said Selahattin Demirtaş, a jailed Kurdish politician and former co-chair of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), in a recent Twitter post.
With the presidential runoff just two days away, on 28 May, the pro-Kurdish HDP and the Green Left Party are urging voters to participate in the elections. Many prominent Kurdish politicians, including those who are currently jailed or exiled, have shared messages of determination to bring an end to Erdoğan’s two-decade-long rule.
In an attempt to secure the support of the third candidate, Sinan Ogan, the opposition Nation Alliance’s presidential candidate, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, engaged in talks with his Ata Alliance. Following failed negotiations with Sinan Ogan, who later declared his support for Erdoğan’s People Alliance, Kılıçdaroğlu reached a memorandum with Ümit Özdağ, a far-right politician and member of the Ata Alliance.
There are concerns that Kurdish voters may abstain from voting due to a trustee clause in the memorandum, which implies that the anti-democratic measure will continue under Kılıçdaroğlu’s potential presidency. In response, pro-Kurdish parties held an urgent meeting on Wednesday and announced their continued support the next day, while firmly expressing their objection to the mentioned clause.
These messages highlight the urgency of removing Erdoğan from power, although they do not openly portray the situation as a choice between the lesser of two evils.
