Elections in Turkey, Erdogan in alliance with a radical party

2023-05-13 20:50:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has formed an electoral alliance with the radical Islamist party 'Huda Par', to consolidate his Kurdish base. But the alliance has caused controversy, as the Huda party has been accused in the past of links to political violence. VOA correspondent Dorian Jones reports from Diyarbakir, Turkey's main Kurdish-majority city.

Leaders of the AKP Party in Diyarbakir boast in a rally with voters about the success of achieving peace. Not long ago, the heart of the city was a battleground between Turkish forces and the Kurdish separatist group the PKK. But now the city has been rebuilt and is attracting tourists. The Voice of America spoke with Mr. Serif Aydin, leader of the AKP Party in Diyarbakir.

"The first expectation in Diyarbakir is peace. Peace is the magic word and they want peace to continue. These countries have suffered a lot. But there has been peace in Diyarbakir for five years and everyone appreciates that."

The government's war on terrorism brought down many of the city's elected mayors, who belonged to the main pro-Kurdish party, including the mayor of Diyarbakir.

Analysts say the response to the February earthquakes and economic crisis is hurting President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's chances of re-election.

Vahap Coskun, a political analyst at DISA, a political research institute in Diyarbakir, tells VOA that Kurdish support for Mr Erdogan has declined.

"We have a severe economic crisis and an extraordinary decline of democracy. Basic rights and freedoms are being restricted. The AKP party has closed the window of democracy on the Kurdish issue. Due to these factors, Kurdish support for the AKP has declined."

In an effort to consolidate his conservative religious base, Mr. Erdogan forged an electoral alliance with the Kurdish Islamist party Huda Par. But the alliance is controversial, ((end credit)) as members of this party are suspected of early ties to the outlawed Hezbollah group. The Hezbollah group in the 1990s killed dozens of people, many of whom died in torture chambers during the war with the Kurdish separatist group PKK.

"Huda Par has not held back, making statements in support of the Hezbollah group. This is the main reason for the feedback. Huda Par is a Kurdish party and as the name suggests, it operates as a Kurdish party. But residents here say he had a hand in serious massacres in the past," says Arjin Dilek Oncel, editor-in-chief of Mezopotamya Ajans? news agency.

The 'Huda Par' party rejects the accusations, insisting that it is a party of peace and that the criticisms against it are wrong.

"It would be more correct to talk about today's issues, not about the problems of 30 years ago. Five, six years ago, bombs exploded in several areas in Diyarbakir and dozens of people lost their lives. Who put them? The PKK was responsible. Did the PKK hand over its weapons? No," says Seyhmus Tanrikulu, with the national committee of the Huda Par party.

Mr. Erdogan's alliance with the Huda Par party is proving divisive, while observers warn that the alliance could drive away more voters than attract and further deepen the divisions in the already highly polarized elections./VOA