YSP: The struggle to end the one-man regime will continue

Whilst Turkey’s presidential election will head to a second round as no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote, the results of the parliamentary election have been confirmed. The Green Left Party (YSP), which contested the previous elections as the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), lost votes in these elections. According to the latest results, the party has won 63 seats. The YSP, which has repeatedly faced restrictions in Turkey such as party closure, arrests, and the lifting of parliamentary immunity, issued a press statement today.

YSP Co-Spokespersons Cigdem Kilicgun Ucar and İbrahim Akin and HDP Co-Chairs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar held a press conference at HDP Headquarters on the election results, saying that fraud and conspiracies were decisive in the results. On the other hand, it was also stated that they had not fully achieved the goals they had aimed for in these elections. “It is clear that the election results cannot be considered a success for us,” Uçar added.

Stating that they have been subjected to politically motivated detentions and arrests since the first day of the elections, Uçar noted, “Since the day Turkey entered the election climate, our politics have been taken out of the equation with the Kobane conspiracy and closure cases. The closure case, like the sword of Damocles, prevented equal and fair electoral competition in Turkey. They tried to ‘mortgage the will of millions of voters’ with the conspiracy and closure case.”

Ucar also emphasized that hundreds of people were detained and arrested in political operations during the election process and that racist attacks on party activities were carried out. Adding that the elections were not held under equal conditions, Ucar noted that the effects of fraud and conspiracies were decisive in the results. The YSP declared that it will evaluate the second round of presidential elections in all the party’s committees and that it will announce its work program as soon as possible. The closing words of the press release were: “No one should become pessimistic or despairing. The struggle to end the one-man regime will continue.”