The People's Democratic Party (HDP), known for its links to the PKK terrorist group, announced on Wednesday it would not field a presidential candidate in Türkiye's upcoming elections, hours after the Constitutional Court (AYM) voted down its plea to postpone a verbal defense hearing in its ongoing closure case until after the May 14 vote.

"The HDP and its allies will not nominate a candidate for May 14," co-Chair Pervin Buldan said, further fueling rumors that the party is considering throwing its support behind Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the head of the main opposition’s Republican People's Party (CHP) and the joint candidate of the six-party opposition bloc Nation Alliance, after they met earlier this week.

Despite the increasing threat of being barred from Türkiye’s politics, the HDP is still considered a critical factor in defining the course of the election campaign since it holds around 10% support nationwide, comprising mainly Kurdish voters.

The court rejected the party’s plea to move the hearing from April 11, casting more doubt on the future of Parliament’s third-biggest party and leaving its officials with a tight schedule to conjure a defense less than two months left until Türkiye’s much-anticipated presidential and parliamentary elections.

Should the Constitutional Court rule to close the HDP, people facing the verdict will not be permitted to be founders, members, directors or supervisors of another party for five years. However, many argue the HDP could reform under a new party umbrella, and whether their recoup could come before May 14 remains to be seen.

The party has been grappling with potential closure since 2021 when the chief public prosecutor of the Supreme Court, Bekir Şahin, launched official proceedings accusing party leaders and members of colluding with the PKK terrorist group and its affiliates, and aiming to destroy and eliminate the indivisible integrity of the state with its country and nation.

The plea for the delay was also the party’s second as it had been originally scheduled to present its defense on March 14.

The prosecution has consistently called for the party to be banned from all state financial support and a political ban on its members, including former leaders, arguing that the HDP "cannot be considered a separate entity from the PKK."

While the top court acknowledged Şahin’s demands and temporarily froze the party’s accounts where it receives funds from the Treasury in early January, members later on March 9 voted by a majority to lift the ban and reinstated government funds.

Once the HDP’s defense is submitted, the court will be convening to reach a conclusion on whether the party will be shut down as per the circumstances listed in Article 69 of the Constitution. A verdict is only possible if two-thirds of the court members, i.e., 10 of them, reach a majority vote and it could still be delayed until May 14.

The upcoming polls stand to be critical for Türkiye as it battles the aftermath of two massive earthquakes that left thousands dead and piled on top of a cost-of-living crisis.

Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is running for the top office for the third time since 2014, is challenged by a total of 18 candidates so far, but the race is primarily set to be between him and Kılıçdaroğlu.

As candidates ready to tread the delicate balance of persuading voters without overbearing in the wake of a devastating tragedy, alliances are also reshuffling to bolster support, with the HDP, as a decisive factor, leaning heavily into the Nation Alliance despite already being an alliance with six other, albeit smaller, parties.

The party’s co-chairs on Monday hosted Kılıçdaroğlu at their office in Parliament to discuss various issues, including the HDP’s "desire for a democratic solution to the Kurdish problem," and hinted at their potential agreement to back the six-party bloc’s joint candidate, overlooking strong "nationalist" objections from the Good Party (IP) within the alliance and stoking debates on the bloc openly "conspiring with terrorists."

The idea of siding with the CHP leader became an option for the HDP after he was confirmed as the Nation Alliance’s candidate and pundits say it is likely to come attached with a series of preconditions, namely open dialogue, ministry posts if the opposition wins and the removal of trustees, among other things.

While the Nation Alliance tries to juggle internal dynamics and the HDP’s apparent terms, the People’s Alliance, helmed by Erdoğan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), has been expanding its reach, welcoming yet-to-be-formal endorsement for Erdoğan from the Free Cause Party (HÜDA-PAR), which also mainly draws support from voters of Kurdish background.

‘Freedom for Öcalan’

Meanwhile, Buldan and her party have been under fire for calling for the removal of the aggravated isolation sentence imposed on the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan during a rally to celebrate Nevruz in Istanbul earlier this week.

Later on Monday’s meeting with Kılıçdaroğlu, her partner Mithar Sancar too revealed they were on the "same page about Öcalan and the PKK."

"For us, Nevruz is the day of love and unity, not one for begging for freedom for a murderer," IP leader Meral Akşener said Wednesday in a thinly veiled response to the HDP’s remarks.

"We will not allow those dark hearts and ill intentions to flourish because we know how to sacrifice for unity; we know how to share and carry our honor," Akşener told her party members at a Parliament meeting.

In recent weeks, Akşener has been vocal about her intense refusal to the idea of collaborating with the HDP, let alone welcoming them into the Nation Alliance, saying the CHP was "free to speak with the HDP but could not bring them into the bloc" when Kılıçdaroğlu showed his intention to team up with the party.

Before her reluctant approval, Akşener’s opposition to rallying behind Kılıçdaroğlu as the six-party bloc’s presidential candidate too nearly brought down the alliance earlier this month.