Kurdish alliance emerges as key actor in Turkey's upcoming elections
Rejected by two major electoral alliances, the Kurds have set up their own alliance with an eye on prizes much further away than Turkey’s snap polls.
Turkey is heading into the June 24 elections with two major alliances. The People’s Alliance is composed of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and the anti-Erdogan Nation Alliance is made up of the Republican People’s Party, the Iyi or Good Party, the tiny Islamist Felicity Party and the Democrat Party.
Now, unexpectedly, a third alliance of Kurdish parties has appeared. The political parties making up the Kurdistan Election Alliance announced they will not only compete in Turkey’s snap elections but hope to take the first step toward national unity among the Kurds of Syria, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. So far, the Kurdistan Freedom Party, Kurdistan Socialist Party, Kurdistan Democratic Party of Turkey and Azadi Movement have announced their membership in the new alliance. With support offered by the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which has a legislative presence and nationwide structure, the new alliance could become a major actor on Turkey’s political scene.
