Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş attended the opening ceremony of the Democratic Alevi Association on Tuesday in intensified efforts to garner more votes to pass the election threshold to enter Parliament as a party, as the June 7 general elections approach. The former president of the Pir Sultan Abdal Cultural Association, Kemal Bülbül, who has become a candidate nominee for the HDP, said on March 2 at a press conference, "the HDP gives hope to Alevis." While Bülbül said that Alevis must turn their faces toward the HDP, Ali İhsan Şahin, a legal expert and the president of the Universal Alevi Bektashi Union spoke to Daily Sabah and said: "The HDP is not the solution for Alevis as it is not sincere in its approach."
In recent years, the government has taken serious steps toward meeting the needs of ethnic and religious minorities in Turkey. A series of meetings was held between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Alevi community leaders and academics to understand and define their issues and find permanent solutions. As the shift from the CHP to HDP continues among Alevi communities, Talha Köse, an academic who is researching the issue of Alevi rights in Turkey at Istanbul Şehir University, said that while support for the CHP from Alevis has increased with Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Alevis' interests in different parties have currently been divided. Köse, speaking to Daily Sabah, said: "There is a differentiation among Alevis, and the HDP has been devoting continuous efforts to include these fractioned groups. The HDP's main motive behind this is to expand its voters as it also aims to pass the election threshold."
