Turkey's ruling AKP trying to undermine HDP, says main opposition head

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is systematically trying to undermine the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) to prevent it from crossing the 10 percent threshold in the June 7 election, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal K?l?çdaro?lu has said. 

"The AKP is engaged in a special effort to stop the HDP passing the threshold," K?l?çdaro?lu said May 27, on his way from an election rally in the Central Anatolian province of Konya to the western province of Denizli for another rally. 

He also said he thought the HDP would have no problem passing the threshold, as almost all polls show it will receive enough votes to do so. 

K?l?çdaro?lu again emphasized concerns over ballot box security during the upcoming vote. 

"We have educated our party organization and we encourage it to support civil society initiatives on the issue. We will be more present at ballot boxes. We are working seriously on the security issue," he said, adding that all political parties are responsible for looking after ballot boxes. 

The CHP head said there is "no longer law or democracy in Turkey." 

"We all fear [the election security.] Why? Because the judiciary has become the backyard of the ruling political authority. Confidence in the judiciary has been lost. There is no longer democracy or rule of law. We are simply trying to win back those things with our own efforts," K?l?çdaro?lu said. 

Speaking on May 27, the anniversary of the 1960 coup d'etat that toppled the government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, and led to the execution of Menderes, Foreign Affairs Minister Fatin Rü?tü Zorlu and Finance Minister Hasan Polatkan, K?l?çdaro?lu said they had always been against political...