HDP on İstanbul Elections: One Man Rule Collapsed

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Temelli and MP Paylan has spoken to bianet on opposition's victory in the İstanbul mayoral election rerun.

Evrim Kepenek

Pınar Tarcan

Evrim Kepenek

Pınar Tarcan

HDP on İstanbul Elections: One Man Rule Collapsed

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HDP Co-Chair Sezai Temelli said it was their party's voters who made the difference in the elections.

"It is needed to evaluate these results beyond the elections. The voters' reactions have been reflected on the ballot box. Those who want peace, democracy and freedom once again cast their votes. The voters gave us a message.

"They said society is sided with peace and they want peace. Those who prefer peace won. From now on, we think we will develop the alliance of democracy that was reflected on the ballot box. The results say we will continue to develop the alliance of democracy. We will work to develop the alliance of democracy.

"Turkey needs the alliance of democracy. These election results showed this once again. From now on, we will continue with those who want democracy and peace."

MP Garo Paylan said that the HDP voters went to the polling stations "with more determination."

"Now, we must work for a pluralist democracy. We must continue our struggle for democracy without thinking about who won and who lost.

"There was much speculation about the HDP voters. Now, we should leave aside who supports HDP, CHP, AKP, or İYİ (Good) Party. The one-man rule has collapsed in Turkey. We must repair the democracy. From tomorrow, we must work for all the people of Turkey, be it Kurds, Turks, Armenians." (PT/EMK/VK)

Origin

BIA News Desk

İstanbul repeat elections local elections 2019

Evrim Kepenek

@kepenekevrimm

[email protected]

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Editor of Bianet’s women and LGBTI+ news section (Oct 2018–Feb 2025). Previously worked as a Bianet intern between 2000 and 2001. Reported for Cumhuriyet, BirGün,...

Editor of Bianet’s women and LGBTI+ news section (Oct 2018–Feb 2025). Previously worked as a Bianet intern between 2000 and 2001. Reported for Cumhuriyet, BirGün, DİHA, Jinha, Jin News, and İMC TV. Also worked for local newspapers in Rize. Her articles and news reports have been published in Sivil Sayfalar, Yeşil Gazete, Journo, and various industry magazines. She is one of the founding writers of GOR, a magazine focused on Hemşin culture.

She contributed to several books, including Portraits of Women from the Black Sea: From Green to Blue, The Basket on Her Back, and Media and Lies. Winner of the Musa Anter Journalism Award (2011) and the Turkish Psychiatric Association’s Best News Award (2024).

A founding member of the Turkish Journalists’ Union’s Women and LGBTI+ Commission, she currently serves as a board member of the union’s İstanbul Branch (2023–2027).

She holds degrees in European Union studies from İstanbul University and international relations from Bilgi University. She organizes workshops on gender-sensitive journalism and reporting on gender-based violence. Since Feb 2025, she has been working as a women's news editor.

Pınar Tarcan

[email protected]

all articles of the author

bianet dış haberler ve iklim krizi editörü. Habertürk ve Vatan gazetelerinde muhabirlik ve politika editörlüğü yaptı. Marmara Üniversitesi İletişim Fakültesi Radyo, TV ve Sinema Bölümü mezunu....