HRW Director: An attack on rights of millions of voters

* Photos: Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu/ AA; Emma Sinclair-Webb/ bianet archive

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After Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Kocaeli MP Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu was stripped of his MP status and a closure case was filed against the HDP on March 17, these two developments have sparked criticisms of international human rights organizations as well.

Sharing a brief message on Twitter on the same day, Human Rights Watch (HRW) Turkey Director Emma Sinclair-Webb asked, "Ömer Faruk Gergerlioğlu and HDP MPs stage a sit-in protest in the general assembly of Turkey's parliament after he is stripped of his parliamentary seat for a tweet. Who will forget this dark day for democracy and human rights in Turkey?"

Sinclair-Webb has spoken to bianet about the closure case against the HDP and Gergerlioğlu's expulsion from the Parliament.

'A major blow for democracy'

"Expelling a deputy from parliament for a tweet and then going on the same day to start a closure case against the second opposition party in parliament is a major blow for democracy and human rights in Turkey," HRW's Sinclair-Webb has underlined, briefly adding:

"Closing political parties represents an attack on the right of millions of voters to elect their chosen representatives, a violation of the right to political association and freedom of expression.

"Prosecutors and courts have become little more than an instrument of the executive, a party to the power struggles within the state."

• The third largest party at the Parliament: In the last general election held in Turkey in 2018, the HDP received 5 million 606 thousand 622 votes in total, which accounted for 11.70 percent of the votes. Its number of seats made the HDP the third largest party at the Parliament after the ruling AKP and main opposition CHP.

HDP and representative democracy in Turkey

The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) was founded in 2012 as the political wing of the Peoples' Democratic Congress (HDK), which consists of several left movements and whose MP candidates run independently so that they could pass the 10-percent electoral threshold.

Allying with the pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP), the HDP joined the peace negotiations between the government of Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from 2013 to 2015.

Vote rates in elections

• Local elections in 2014: In the local elections held in Turkey in 2014, the HDP run parallel to the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) in the Kurdish-majority southeastern provinces of Turkey and competed all across the country, expect for Mersin and Konya, where the BDP had its own candidates. After the local elections, the two parties were reorganized in a joint structure. On April 28, 2014, the entire Parliamentary group of the BDP joined the HDP and the BDP (which was reorganized as the Democratic Regions Party in July) was represented only on the level of local administration.
• Presidential elections in 2014: The HDP's Presidential candidate was Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been behind bars in Edirne Prison since November 2016. Demirtaş received 3 million 958 thousand 48 votes, which accounted for 9.76 percent.
• General elections in June 2015: Co-chaired by now-imprisoned Figen Yüksekdağ and Selahattin Demirtaş, the HDP got 13.12 percent of the votes in the Parliamentary elections on June 7, 2015, which meant 6 million 58 thousand 489 votes.
• General elections in November 2015: With the Resolution Process of the Kurdish question brought to an end, repeat general elections were held in November and the HDP could get 5 million 148 thousand 85 votes, or 10.76 percent of the votes.
• General elections in 2018: Co-chaired by Pervin Buldan and Sezai Temelli at the time, the HDP received 5 million 606 thousand 622 votes, which accounted for 11.70 percent of the total number of votes. It became the third largest party at the Parliament.

About the HDP closure case

The Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation filed a closure case against the HDP by appealing to the Constitutional Court on March 17, 2021. The indictment has been sent to the top court. In the indictment prepared by the Court of Cassation's Chief Public Prosecutor Bekir Şahin, there is also a request for a political ban on 687 HDP politicians.

Some of these 687 people are as follows: Former Co-Chair of the HDP Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been imprisoned for over 4 years now; former Co-Chair of the HDP Sezai Temelli; current Co-Chairs of the HDP Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar; former HDP MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder. (PT/SD)