A campaign speech made by pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtaş from prison to be broadcast on Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) will also be shown during the party’s election rally in İstanbul on June 17, according to Turkish media reports.
Demirtaş has been in pre-trial detention since November 2016 on terror charges.
On Tuesday, Demirtaş’s campaign speech was taped in Edirne Prison, where he is incarcerated.
Turkey’s Supreme Election Board (YSK) previously approved an application from the HDP for Demirtaş to record two 10-minute-long campaign speeches at TRT studios in Ankara, like other candidates. However, the board changed its decision for Demirtaş, who had applied to be taken to Ankara to make the videos and ruled that Demirtaş be taped in Edirne Prison.
TRT will start to broadcast the speeches of presidential candidates on June 17, with Doğu Perinçek appearing first, followed by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Demirtaş and Temel Karamollaoğlu.
Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Muharrem İnce and İYİ Party presidential candidate Meral Akşener have refused to appear on TRT, which they criticized for a lack of news coverage on the opposition.
The HDP’s election rally in İstanbul will take place at the Bakırköy Public Bazaar. The rally is expected to begin at 5 p.m. and end at 9 p.m.
Demirtaş’s 10-minute-long speech will be shown on a giant screen in the area where HDP Co-chairpersons Pervin Buldan and Sezai Temelli will also deliver speeches.
