ANKARA
The success of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party in Turkey's June 7 elections would help facilitate the disarming of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, the party's co-chairman has said.
Selahattin Demirtas, the co-chair of the Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, said Wednesday at the Turkish parliament in Ankara that the HDP could be a force in the ongoing efforts to find a solution to the decades-old conflict with the PKK, but would need to cross the election threshold and gain representation in parliament in order to do so.
PKK is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union. The group's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, has called the terrorist organization to lay down arms.
The HPD is taking part in the general election for the first time under its own banner and, in line with other parties in Turkey, needs to win at least 10 percent of votes in order to gain seats in parliament.
Demirtas denied claims in Turkey on Wednesday that members of the PKK had been on HDP candidate lists for the polls.
He said: "The faith in weapons being silenced will be revealed by our general election results.
"The success of the HDP will facilitate the process of disarmament."
'On the edge'
He said the party was on the edge of passing the 10 percent election threshold.
"We can exceed the threshold; I would say that we are on the edge. However, I cannot say the threshold problem has entirely disappeared for us," he said.
After parties candidate lists were submitted Tuesday, some names faced harsh criticism including that of Dilek Ocalan -- the niece of outlawed and the imprisoned PKK leader.
But Demirtas defended her candidature.
He said: "Dilek Ocalan is a part of the makeup of the party’s plurality. She has been active in the party in (the southern province of) Urfa and is current the HDP’s link to the general assembly of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP.
"We have an Armenian candidate because the Armenians are a truth in Turkey. We have also an Alewi candidate because the Alewis are another truth in Turkey."
He said the HDP would announce its election manifesto on April 21 in Istanbul.
Current HDP lawmakers ran as independents in the 2011 general election, receiving about 6.57 percent of the vote, which corresponds to about 3 million voters.
All pro-Kurdish lawmakers had previously stood for the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, before the HDP was established in 2012.
