DEM Party unveils co-candidates for Istanbul

ANKARA

The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has announced that Meral Danış Beştaş and Murat Çepni will compete as their municipal mayoral candidates for Istanbul in the upcoming local elections scheduled for March 31.

Beştaş, a long-time lawyer specializing in human rights, was elected as the deputy from the eastern province of Erzurum in the general elections held last May. Çepni, 49, has been actively involved in various political roles since 2010.

Speaking during a press conference on Feb. 9, DEM party spokesperson Ayşegül Doğan underlined that the nomination process was carried out in a highly transparent atmosphere.

"We are a strong and experienced political movement that cannot be confined to just two options of winning or losing. We neither offer a challenge nor a conciliatory gesture to anyone. Everything is laid out transparently, beyond the constraints of win or lose options."

The announcement came after Başak Demirtaş, the wife of incarcerated former Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, declared that she will not be running for mayor of Istanbul.