Başak Demirtaş, the wife of former Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, who is currently imprisoned in Edirne Prison, announced that she will not run for Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IMM) from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in the local elections to be held on March 31.
In a written statement, Demirtaş said, “At this stage, we have reached a common consensus with our Party that my declaration of candidacy for Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality should not turn into an application.”
Başak Demirtaş stated that the DEM Party continues its local election policy with great care and reminded that she had previously stated that she was ready to take responsibility for the candidacy of IBB Mayor in order to give strong support to this.
“On Monday, February 5, 2024, I met with a delegation representing our Party and was informed about all the developments. As a result of our mutual consultations, our Party honored us by stating that they took strength from this declaration of will.
“However, at this stage, we have reached a consensus with our Party that my declaration of candidacy for Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality should not turn into an application.
“All our people and party members should know that all decisions have been taken in full harmony and coordination with our Party.
“The candidates that our Party will announce in the coming days will be the candidates of all of us and we will stand behind these precious friends with all our strength and work for the success of our Party.
“We especially ask that no statements other than the official statements of our Party should be credited and no speculation should be given a premium. We will succeed together, no matter what happens, we will never give up our basic principles of democracy and our quest for justice, equality and peace. And we will definitely win. Dem dema me ye!”
DEM Party also made a statement afterwards and thanked Başak Demirtaş for her contribution to the process.
In the statement made by the party, it was stated, “Our authorized boards have evaluated the developments by putting all options on the table at the current stage and came together with Başak Hanım and reached the view that she should not be a candidate in full harmony and coordination.”
The statement also said that the DEM Party will share the names of the candidates for Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality with the public in the coming days.