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News > World

Pro-Kurd Party to Participate in Turkish Interim Government

  • The leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas answers a question during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, Turkey, July 30, 2015.

    The leader of Turkey's pro-Kurdish opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtas answers a question during an interview with Reuters in Ankara, Turkey, July 30, 2015. | Photo: Reuters

Published 25 August 2015
Opinion

The coalition negotiations between Turkey's ruling and main opposition parties ended with no agreed deal, prompting snap elections in November.

The leader of Turkey's pro-Kurd Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, said Tuesday that his party was ready to participate in an interim power-sharing government.

"We will have no hesitation in exercising our constitutional right and participating in the government," the leader of the left-wing party told reporters in the capital Ankara.

RELATED: Pro-Kurd Party Wins Broad Appeal in Turkish Elections Through Progressive Policies.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan officially announced snap parliamentary elections Monday, prompted by months of failed attempts to reach a government coalition agreement.

Before the snap elections can be held, the Turkish constitution requires an interim government to be formed by Aug. 29, with each party allocated a number of ministries according to the seats they hold in parliament.

However, the two larger opposition parties, the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), have announced that they will not take part in the interim government.

The refusal of Turkey's two other opposition parties to take part may force Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to form a temporary government coalition with the HDP.

RELATED: Our Grannies Will Not Be Censored! Kurds tell Facebook

The participation of the pro-Kurdish party in the interim cabinet would be highly contentious, particularly as Turkish jets are currently carrying out bombing against Kurdish guerrillas in the country’s southeast.

However, Demirtas warned that he would not be surprised if leaders from the AKP aimed to exclude the HDP by reaching out directly to CHP and MHP parliamentarians with cabinet post offers: "we should not be surprised if they breach the constitution and try to form a government without HDP. Such an attempt would be rejected by the Constitutional Court," Demitras said.

The HDP, which represents progressive policies, as well as the Kurdish nationalist movement in Turkey, entered parliament for the first time in June, after winning 13 percent of the vote.

Coalition talks initially began last July, after Turkeys ruling AKP party lost its parliamentary majority during the country’s the general election. It marked a significant defeat for the conservative party, which has ruled the country since 2002.

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