2023-04-25 19:19:56
“Since I have the right to vote, I have always supported the parties from the Kurdish movement”, says Ali Kurt, 28. An English teacher in the Urfa region (south-eastern Anatolia), of Kurdish origin, the young man, seated on the terrace of a café, talks about his political commitment.
“Around me, people are becoming more and more apolitical. At one point, we thought that the pressures of power on the Kurdish movement would fuel even more anger among the population. It is clear that this is not the case “, he regrets. Like many young people around him, he has closely followed the methodical undermining of the Islamo-nationalist coalition in power in Ankara against the Kurdish movement since 2015.
A bitter battle
The procedure to close down the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), launched with the Constitutional Court in June 2021, could have orphaned nearly 6 million voters if the party had not provided for an administrative sleight of hand. All of its elected officials and candidates have invested in the small political party of La Gauche verte (YSP) to avoid being deprived of representation in the elections of May 14.
In Urfa, Ali will vote for the candidate of the opposition coalition, the social democrat Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, and for the list of The Green Left in the legislative elections. He was seduced by the presence in 4e position of Ferit Şenyaşar, a native of the city of Suruç, on the list of candidates for the deputy of the YSP.
Although more than half of Urfa’s population is Kurdish, the battle promises to be bitter. Recep Tayyip Erdogan won 64.8% of the vote there in the 2018 presidential election, ahead of former HDP co-chairman Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been imprisoned since 2016. This year, the list of candidates for deputy of the AKP (President Erdogan’s party, editor’s note), features three names from a large, influential Kurdish family in the region, a strategy to ensure a docile voice pool.
“In Urfa, for half of the people of Kurdish origin, family ties, religion are more important than being Kurdishdecrypts Velat Izol, lawyer and former president of the local bar. Conservatism and security come first in their concerns. It is Why they trust the AKP. »
150 people arrested in an operation against the PKK
Nationally, the opposition candidate, Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls. The coalition of six parties which supports him assures him of a large electoral base. He also enjoys the support of the far left coalition parties (approximately 12% of voting intentions) gathered around the pro-Kurdish party.
Reputed to be very disciplined, this electorate qualified as “Kingmaker” should largely follow the voting instructions. But nothing is decided yet in Urfa. “People will wait until election day to express themselves at the ballot box”estimates Velat Izol.
In the meantime, the power has again struck the Kurds: more than 150 people have been arrested in an operation presented as « anti-terrorist » against the PKK (Workers’ Party of Kurdistan, classified as terrorist by Ankara and its Western allies), launched in 21 provinces.
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