Secularist Republican People's Party (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem İnce visited on Wednesday the co-chair of the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtaş, in Edirne prison.
In November 2016, 13 HDP lawmakers were arrested, and 10 of them, including HDP Co-chairs Demirtaş and Figen Yüksekdağ, remain under arrest awaiting trial on charges related to membership, leadership and committing crimes for the PKK terrorist group.
"I am not going to alienate anyone. I want to make an appointment with all the presidential candidates in the opposition when we start the campaign. I plan to visit Doğu Perinçek, Meral Akşener and Temel Karamollaoğlu, as well," İnce said on Sunday.
The HDP has come under fire for its close links to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU. Members of the party have so far declined to call the PKK a "terrorist group" and have attended PKK militants' funerals, two of whom were suicide bombers that killed dozens of civilians in multiple bombings in Ankara.
Previously, the CHP was slammed for its ties with the HDP for the months-long alliance talks. According to reports, CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu did not provide a thorough answer to a question about possible alliance efforts with the HDP.
