Kurdish and leftist parties

The Democratic Society Party (DTP) aims to harmonize with small parties on the left in large cities during the general elections, a party official said yesterday.

The party has already decided to run with independent candidates and announced its withdrawal from the elections as a party. Confident of a good performance in southeastern Anatolia, the party now seeks ways to do the same in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir, Konya, Manisa, Muğla, Kocaeli, Antalya, Bursa and Denizli.

A DTP official told the Turkish Daily News that co-leaders of the DTP, Ahmet Türk and Aysel Tuğluk discussed cooperation with Ufuk Uras, leader of the Freedom and Democracy Party (ÖDP), Osman Kavala, member of Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) and Gençay Gürsoy, chairman of Turkish Doctors’ Unity (TTB). The TDN has learnt that DTP is also in contact with socialist parties like the Labor Party (EMEP) and the Socialist Democracy Party (SDP).

According to the offer, the DTP, these parties and nongovernmental organizations will determine the independent candidates together in the mentioned cities. In return the DTP requests support for its independent candidates in southeastern Anatolia. Türk and Tuğluk are holding meetings with some intellectuals, including Eşber Yağmurdereli, to garner their support.

Meanwhile the DTP has received 247 candidacy applications for the general elections. There are 28 women and nine former deputies amid the applicants.

Tuğluk is likely to run from Diyarbakır and Türk from Mardin. Former deputies Leyla Zana and Hatip Dicle will run for office from Diyarbakır while Selim Sadak and Orhan Doğan chose Şırnak as their constituency.