Demirtaş steps back from active politics but says 'I belong and I will continue to belong to HDP'

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Selahattin Demirtaş, the imprisoned ex-chairperson of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) made an interview with İrfan Aktan from Artı Gerçek news outlet, responding to his questions from the Edirne F-type Prison.

Aktan wrote, presenting his interview with the imprisoned politician, that Demirtaş "who has given great support to the election campaign of HDP-Green Left Party (YSP)* from the Edirne Prison where he is being kept since November 4, 2016" made the severest evaluation and self-criticism so far, of the process from among the opposition.

"Too early to be sad or delighted"

"Demirtaş announced that he is stepping back from active politics, a sentence he has told us in the interview before the interview was published," Aktan wrote and added, "This has made millions of voters sad while his rivals seem delighted. I want to say that it is too early for both of these feelings and leave the floor to Demirtaş."

Demirtaş explained Aktan how he decided about and how he sees his stepping back from active politics.

"I had told the headquarters of our party that I would step back from active political work after the elections, no matter what the election results were. I still hold up my opinion. I believe that all our comrades struggling outside of the prison, with heart and soul, will complete this process, based on our own power and self-reliance. I trust each one of them. My critics and suggestions to the party are totally well-intentioned, constructive, and for the purpose of making a contribution. Nobody should try to use my criticism to beat up HDP. I belong and I will continue to belong to HDP. I want everyone to know this," the imprisoned politician said.

Demirtaş also evaluated the May 14 elections and the May 28 runoff in the interview.

"I was angry at the disorderly scene that emerged in the evening on May 14 when the election results started to come in," he said.

"I did not truly expect those results. I was expecting both the YSP and Kılıçdaroğlu to get higher rates. I was sad with the results, and I was angry at the disorderly appearance that the opposition had that evening."

"In fact Kılıçdaroğlu has won the elections"

On the other hand, Demirtaş stated that the May 28 results were not surprising.

He said, "In fact, Kılıçdaroğlu has won the elections. However, election frauds, the votes cast abroad, and the votes of those who were made citizens recently; all added up, Erdoğan has won this historical election. What we lived through has nothing to do with an election, democracy, or the people's will being reflected; not even close to it. All of what has happened was an operation,"

* Facing closure risk in the case at the Constitutional Court, HDP competed in the May 14 elections under the Green and Left Party (YSP).

(AS/PE)