DTP eyes securing up to 53 seats in
Parliament
May 16, 2007 Turkish Zaman
The Democratic Society Party (DTP), with a
strong support base in the country's Kurdish population, has prepared a report
assessing the party's strengths and weaknesses, forming a strategy for the
coming general elections.
The 142-page report prepared by DTP Deputy
Chairman Osman Özçelik is based on the assumption that "there will not be a
positive or negative surprising change" in the votes cast for the party or that
its predecessors got in general and local elections. After elaborating on these
results, the report suggests that the party should enter 62 candidates across
just 40 constituencies, including some western cities like Bursa, Kocaeli and
İzmir. "Apart from these 40 constituencies there should be no candidates and all
cadres, members and sympathizers should be directed to these areas immediately.
Although in some of the these constituencies the votes gathered in the previous
elections are not enough to win parliamentary seats, since concerns related to
the elections threshold n longer exists, it is realistic to expect that in these
areas there will be an increase in voting," the report claimed -- referring to
the DTP's decision for its candidates to enter the elections as independents.
This decision was based on the party's former experience in failing to pass the
10 percent threshold for parliamentary representation, despite the its success
in garnering a high number of votes in certain cities with predominantly Kurdish
populations.
The DTP’s hope
The recent amendment to the election law, whereby the names of independent
candidates will now be on the same ballot paper as all those from the
established parties, was also elaborated upon in the report. Previously
independent candidates' names appeared on separate voting slips. DTP Chairman
Ahmet Türk claimed at a press conference last week that these amendments aimed
to harm the DTP. However the report suggests that with good planning these
changes may become a positive element.
The report notes that invalid votes for their party are very high and that
participation in elections is low in the areas where the party is strong.
However because of the amendments to the law, there were likely to be fewer
problems with ballot papers, while the computerizing of the electoral role will
also benefit the party.
The reasons for previous failures are categorized under the headings of election
fraud, psychological factors, economic shortcomings, prevention, propaganda
against the party and lack of effective organization. The report examines the
situation and the possibilities of the suggested 40 constituencies one by one.
For example, for Adana the report says that if the threshold has been passed by
three parties -- the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the Republican
People's Party (CHP) and the Democrat Party (DP) -- then DTP votes will still be
good enough to give two independent candidates seats in Parliament. For İstanbul,
especially in certain neighborhoods such as Küçükçekmece and Bağcılar, the DTP
hopes for at least two wins. The report estimates a best result of four seats
and a worst of three in İstanbul. DTP stronghold Diyarbakır, where in the 2002
elections 56.1 percent of the city voted for DTP predecessor the Democratic
People's Party (DEHAP), will send five DTP deputies to Parliament.
The report also suggests at worst among these 40 constituencies, cities like
Ankara, Antalya, Bursa, Hatay, Kırşehir, Malatya, Muğla and Kahramanmaraş the
vote will not be strong enough to put through the DTP candidates but that the
party should still put forward candidates in these cities. As a final analysis
the report suggest that the DTP should nominate 62 candidates across 40
constituencies, with the worst case scenario being 37 seats in Parliament, the
best 53 and the average -- but still positive -- 50.
