Seventy six organizations and 2,393 people object to blocking of HDP's Treasury aid

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The decision to block Türkiye's third-largest parliamentary group on January 5, came after a request from Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation, which suspects links between the HDP and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). A closure case against the party is still going on.

In the statement published yesterday (January 11), 2.393 citizens and 76 organizations expressed their concern about the decision to deprive the party of their funds. They remark that the closure case is opened due to public pressure from the ruling AKP-MHP coalition.

Furthermore, they address that it will create a disadvantage for the HDP in the upcoming elections and is a severe intervention in the electoral process. The group demands that the decision will be revoked and that they stand by the side of democracy.

Despite the HDP being deprived of receiving 539 million lira (29.7 million US dollars) from the Treasury this year, the party announced that it will field its own candidate in this year's presidential election scheduled for June 18.

The third largest opposition party is not part of the main opposition bloc known as the 'Nation Alliance'. However, the party is widely perceived to be the kingmaker in the upcoming elections, accounting for around 10 to 12 percent of the national vote.

HDP closure case

The Court of Cassation launched an inquiry against the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on March 2, 2021, and the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation, Bekir Şahin applied to the Constitutional Court on March 17, 2021, demanding the closure of HDP and many of members banned from politics.

A two-thirds majority, or votes of 10 of the 15 Constitutional Court members, are necessary to close the party or to impose other sanctions on the party, such as wholly or partially depriving it of public aid.

Those who have been imposed a political ban in Türkiye are not able to be founders, members, executives, or supervisors of any other political party for five years. (WM)