2018 Selahattin Demirtaş presidential campaign

Selahattin Demirtaş was officially announced as the candidate of the People's Democratic Party (HDP) on 4 May 2018, after members of the party had hinted at his candidacy weeks in advance. Party leader Pervin Buldan declared that Demirtaş, a jailed former co-chair of the HDP, would be leading a five-party "Kurdish alliance" into the general election.

Program


(Full details)
 * Defending “No” for the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum
 * 18 proposed amendments to the Constitution of Turkey
 * More Minority and Women’s rights
 * Building a country without Capitalism
 * The support of Turkish membership of the European Union

Foreign policy
On European Union–Turkey relations, Demirtaş is known for his long-time support for Turkey’s EU accession process, focusing on the pledge to uphold human rights, local democracy, separation of powers and the rule of law as the main tenets of his future presidency. He distinguishes himself from other candidates in his unwavering criticism of what he sees as Brussels's neo-liberal economic agenda.