Turkey’s Constitutional Court on Thursday rejected an appeal filed by the Kurdish opposition People’s Democracy Party (HDP) to buy more time in the framework of a case against it and thus avoid its dissolution and outlawing.
The court has taken the decision after hearing the arguments of the defense, which sought to extend the process at least until the holding of elections next May, according to information from the Anatolia news agency.
The case, opened in June 2021, seeks to ban the HDP for its alleged links to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which Turkey considers a terrorist organization.
The HDP, the second most-represented opposition party in parliament and the country’s third largest formation, has denied the charges. Earlier this month, the court blocked the bank accounts of the party, which was scheduled to receive 539 million liras (about 27 million euros) to finance election campaigns in the run-up to the elections.
The case also seeks the disqualification of HDP members from holding public office or participating in political life. Some polls have indicated that the country’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and his ultranationalist allies are virtually tied with the six-party opposition bloc, making the Kurdish vote decisive.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
