What Do People Think About the Elections in Mardin?

Firstly, we interviewed with Mithat Sancar, a former academician current deputy candidate of Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) from Mardin province.

Mithat Sancar:

“My mother tongue is Arabic but I speak Kurdish in the street. People know and love me with a mixture of political and social reasons. I was an academician and in this part of the world, one cannot simply become an academician. So, they love and respect someone they have known since he was born. Mardin is the most peaceful and democratic city for election campaigns. Not HDP but other parties may provoke people. We don’t allow provocations. I think people abroad have the risk for gerrymander.

“Carrying trade and agriculture have weakened. We can improve economy by changing irrigation policies. HPD appeals to all kinds of ethnicity like Arabs, Assyrians, Kurds and etc. Erdoğan’s exploiting the religion in election meetings may affect voters’ opinion.”

On our Mardin tour, we spoke to people in tea coffee house. The youngest of men was 55 years old. They complained about unemployment and couldn’t handle the burden.

Then, we talked to Orhan Miroğlu, a deputy candidate of Justice and Development Party (AKP) from Mardin province.

Orhan Miroğlu:

“People tell us their demands were not met and request us to serve more efficiently. AKP can solve all of these problems. We invested in Mardin and improved tourism. We built roads and are still building.

“If HDP wanted to contribute the resolution process, they would be in the elections with independent candidates. When HDP passes the election threshold, The PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan won’t play the key role anymore. I'm against the election threshold but HDP should be partner with AKP throughout the resolution process." (BK/BD)

* This tour has been made with the help of coordinatorship of P24.

Click here to read this article in Turkish