Kılıçdaroğlu says will visit HDP ahead of elections

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Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, head of the main opposition party and the opposition's joint presidential candidate, has said that he will visit co-leaders of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

"I'll meet the HDP's dear co-chairs. My colleagues are planning," he told the T24 news portal in an interview published today (March 13).

Gaining the support of the HDP, the most popular party in the country's predominantly Kurdish-populated regions, will be crucial for Kılıçdaroğlu's prospects to defeat President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the elections.

After the opposition bloc known as the Nation's Alliance or the Table of Six declared Kılıçdaroğlu's candidacy on March 6, Mithat Sancar, a co-leader of the HDP, had invited Kılıçdaroğlu for talks.

The HDP has not yet declared whether it will nominate a separate candidate or support the opposition bloc in the presidential election.

With neither the opposition nor the ruling alliance having 50 percent of electoral support, which is required for the presidency, the HDP's decision will be decisive.

The parliamentary and presidential elections were brought forward to May 14, Erdoğan announced on March 10. (ME/VK)