11.10.2026 11:30
DEM Party Diyarbakır MP Cengiz Çandar answered the question of whether his party would support President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan if he runs again. Çandar said this depends on whether Erdoğan needs the DEM Party and Kurdish votes to be elected. Çandar, who asked for the release of Selahattin Demirtaş and an end to trustee practices for trust in the process, also demanded the amendment of Articles 42 and 66 of the Constitution.
DEM Party MP Cengiz Çandar stated that his party's stance on supporting Erdoğan's possible candidacy would depend on the concrete steps the government would take.
“TWO QUESTIONS MUST BE ANSWERED”
Responding to Rudaw’s questions, Çandar replied to the question of whether DEM Party would support Erdoğan if he runs again by saying that first two questions must be answered. According to Çandar, the first question is whether Erdoğan would arithmetically need DEM Party. Çandar stated that if he is not needed, there is no problem.
Noting that the second question is whether Erdoğan would need the votes of Kurdish voters to be elected, Çandar argued that in this case Erdoğan would again need DEM Party.
DEMAND FOR ARTICLES 42 AND 66
Recalling that in his opening speech at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Erdoğan emphasized the process, a “Terror-Free Turkey” and a new constitution, Çandar stated that Articles 42 and 66 of the Constitution needed to be amended for DEM Party. Article 42 regulates education in the mother tongue, while Article 66 regulates the definition of citizenship. Çandar stated that if a promise is made that the definition of citizenship will be changed in the new constitution and obstacles to education in the mother tongue will be removed, their stance will be determined according to the situation.
DEMİRTAŞ AND THE TRUSTEE CONDITION
Çandar argued that there is a distrust in society toward the process and that this could be changed with a few steps. Saying that the first step to be taken is the release of former HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş, Çandar stated that unless Demirtaş “enters society as a free man,” doubts about the process will continue.
Also criticizing the situation of dismissed Mardin Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ahmet Türk and other mayors, Çandar recalled that MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli met with Ahmet Türk many times.
DEMAND REGARDING ÖCALAN’S STATUS
Also touching on Bahçeli’s statement about Abdullah Öcalan, the ringleader of the terrorist organization PKK, Çandar argued that Öcalan’s inclusion in the process with a certain status must be concretized.