DEM Party to nominate own candidate for Istanbul

ANKARA

The Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has announced its decision to field its own candidate for the local polls in Istanbul, obviously hinting at the end of the negotiations with the main opposition party for a potential collaboration.

DEM Party spokeswoman Ayşegül Doğan declared on Feb. 4 the decisions taken by the party’s main decision-making body regarding the local polls slated for March 31.

“We, as the DEM Party, have decided to run in the Istanbul mayoral elections with our own candidate to win the elections and not to make [candidates from other parties] win or lose,” she said at a press conference.

The DEM Party and the Republican People’s Party (CHP) were negotiating to renew a similar collaboration they did in the 2019 polls in which the latter’s candidate, Ekrem İmamoğlu, won.

The party has long been discussing about its strategy for the municipal polls, Doğan recalled, underlining that their intention was to appoint candidates in all the constituencies.

“We will disclose all the constituencies and the candidates we will appoint until Feb. 9,” the spokeswoman informed. On a question about whether Başak Demirtaş, the wife of the imprisoned former leader of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), is among the candidates for Istanbul, Doğan stressed that she is among the potential names.

“There are many valuable figures in our pool of candidates. It should be known that consultations are underway with all these names,” she stated.