Mithat Sancar

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which is under the risk of being banned by the Constitution Court due to its alleged links to the PKK terrorist organization, has elected Sultan Özcan and Cahit Kırkazak as the new co-leaders during a party convention over the weekend.

The co-chairs of the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, have announced that they will not rerun for the party leadership at the first HDP congress after the elections as they have not reached the targeted success in the May 14 polls.

In support of North Cyprus, Aziz Sancar, Türkiye's Nobel laureate in chemistry, has posed with a T-shirt that read "TRNC should be recognized," receiving great praise on social media.

Supporters of the HDP shout slogans during their march against the arrest of pro-Kurdish People's Democtaric Party HDP parliamentarians in Istanbul, 18 June 2020. Photo: EPA-EFE/SEDAT SUNA

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Mithat Sancar said his party is open to the idea of a joint presidential candidate with other opposition parties for the next presidential elections if the talks would be "transparent."

The HDP held its 5th congress in the capital Ankara on July 3.

An investigation was launched by the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office on Dec. 13 against a Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) congress over pro-PKK slogans.

The Anti-Terrorism Department of the General Directorate of Security said it filed a criminal complaint to the Istanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office against an HDP congress held in Istanbul.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Oct. 5 rejected any debate on the Kurdish issue and reiterated his argument that "there is no Kurdish problem" in Turkey.

"To discuss the so-called Kurdish issue means to discussing the nation. Discussing the nation is synonymous with opening the state for discussion," he said at the MHP's parliament group meeting.

Turkey's Constitutional Court has accepted an indictment seeking the closure of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).

The 843-page indictment, which was prepared by Bekir Şahin, the chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals, also demands that 451 party members be banned from politics.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has met a delegation of the opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) led by co-chair Mithat Sancar to discuss a wide range of issues regarding Turkey, including the opposition's efforts to shift back to the parliamentary system.

Turkey's opposition Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) on June 15 started the "March for Democracy against Coup" in the northwestern province of Edirne and the southeastern province of Hakkari.

The march, which aimed to end in the capital Ankara on June 20, has faced restrictions including bans on entry and exit to some provinces due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.