Başak Demirtaş opts out of Istanbul mayoral race

ISTANBUL

Başak Demirtaş, the wife of incarcerated former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, has declared that she will not be running for mayor of Istanbul in the upcoming local elections on March 31.

The announcement came in a written statement released by Başak Demirtaş, indicating a consensus with the HDP's successor, the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party).

"At this stage, we have reached a consensus with our party that my declaration of candidacy for the Istanbul Municipality should not turn into an application," she said. "The candidates that our party will announce in the coming days will be the candidates of all of us, and we will stand behind these precious friends with all our strength and work for the success of our party."

Following her announcement, the DEM Party released a statement expressing gratitude for her contributions to the process.

"Our authorized boards have evaluated the developments by putting all options on the table at the current stage and came together with Ms. Başak and reached the view that she should not be a candidate in full harmony and coordination," read the party statement.

The DEM Party affirmed that it would unveil its candidate for the Istanbul mayorship in the coming days. DEM Party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan last week disclosed that the party would announce all the names of their candidates by Feb. 9.