JINHA

NEWS CENTER – The Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which has promised to be the "party of women," announced its list of candidates for the Parliamentary election yesterday. The list is 48% women.

The opposition party hopes to present its most serious challenge yet against the ruling AKP in Turkey's June election. For the first time in its history, HDP candidates will be entering the election not as independent candidates but as members of a party. The stakes are high; Turkey has Europe's highest electoral threshold for a party to enter Parliament, at 10%. But if the HDP wins, it will win all the legitimacy and resources of a Parliamentary party in Turkey, previously only won by mainstream and far-right parties.

The HDP has a co-chair system, in which leadership positions are shared by a man and woman. The parliamentary list aim for 50% gender equality.

"Efforts for men's and women's equality like the co-chair system show that the HDP is the party carrying forward these struggles," said Hülya Gülbahar, feminist lawyer, speaking with JINHA in Istanbul.

Women are the headline candidates in 23 provinces: Current party general co-chair Figen Yüksekdağ leads the list in the Kurdish province of Van. Veteran Kurdish politician Leyla Zana leads in the eastern province of Ağrı. Selma Irmak, general co-chair of the umbrella civil society group Democratic Society Congress (DTK), leads the list in Hakkari, castle of the Kurdish movement. Current member of the opposition party delegation participating in the Kurdish resolution process, Pervin Buldan, leads the list in Istanbul.

"This is an important step towards equal representation," said Socialist Feminist Collective member Filiz Karakuş about the list, "but this is just the tip of the iceberg. We want to think of equal representation as something embracing a Parliament, a society, a struggle without gender." Related to this, Filiz noted that the HDP is the only party with openly LGBTQI candidates, including Barış Sulu in Eskişehir.

Other noteworthy woman candidates include Nuray Erçağan, the mother of the young Turkish woman tried for wearing a red scarf at Gezi protests (called "leftist propaganda" by the court) who later joined the Kurdish guerrilla. Feminist lawyer Filiz Kerestecioğlu, known for her work on women's cases, is running in Istanbul, as is Islamic writer Hüda Kaya. The lists, which include members of ethnic and religious minorities in high numbers, present a portrait of the "other Turkey" not seen in those of the two mainstream parties.

"The other parties don't even reach 20% representation," noted Socialist Women's Assembly member Fadime Çelebi. The CHP and AKP both have only 18% woman candidates, compared to the HDP's 48% (268 out of 550 candidates).

Fadime noted that even if women take an active part in elections in every party, this is rarely reflected in the actual representative positions. "Being a representative is restricted to men." Mainstream party CHP has just 103 women candidates and 10 relatively young candidates, out of 550 candidates.

"We're still at the beginning of the road," said Fadime.

Our agency has compiled a full list of woman HDP candidates here, divided by province. Headline candidates (those at the top of the MP list for the province) are listed in capital letters.

Adana: Meral Danış Beştaş, Beyhan Günyeli, Hatice Kavran, Feride Peynirci, Nefise balyemez, Kader Duman, Feyruze Gümüş

Adıyaman: Ayten Yılmaz, Birsen Tunç

Afyon: Cavidan Nizamoğlu, Müge Yaman Yılmaz

Ağrı: LEYLA ZANA, Dirayet Taşdemir

Amasya: ÇİĞDEM ATALAY

Ankara 1. Bölge: Songül Erol Abdil, Perihan Kiraz, Firdevs Kantar, Zelal Deniz Demir, Burcu Yıldırım, Nursel Güvendir, Nazik Kılıç

Ankara 2. Bölge: Gülsen Ülker, Nursel Öztürk, Remziye Güçlü, İlknur Yılmaz, Mühibe Koç, Gülistan Aydoğdu, Dilek Ertürk

Antalya: Nuray Erçağan, Aysel İbili, Gülkız Türkdoğan, İklim Manya, Leyla Ruken Yolcu, Somgül Şarklı

Ardahan: Arzu Maco

Aydın : FİLİZ KOÇALI, Sevay Akkay Açıcı, Nazlı Boza Kibar, Ayfer Demirer

Antep: Gülseren Kocaer, Fatoş Çetinkaya, Berivan Özpolat, Tuğçe Özsoy, Güzel Koç, Dilek Büyükkaya

Aksaray: Bircan Duman

Bartin: Diren Cevahir Şen

Balıkesir: Esengü Beşli, Ayşe Işık

Bayburt: Mercan Cevhair

Batman: Saadet Becerikli, Ayşe Acar Başaran

Bilecik: PERİHAN KARAKOÇ

Bingöl: Sevgi Öğünç

Bitlis: MİZGİN IRGAT

Bolu: Nur Türk, Güner Yavuz

Burdur: Betül Taylan

Bursa: Asiye Kolaçak, Ceylan Erol, Fatma Özen Çerençe, HAtice Ateş, Birgül Asena Hızal, Şenol Gül, Münesra Geçimli, Gurbet Çelik

Çanakkale: ÖZLEM ERGÜN AÇANAL, Mihriman Şah, Leyla Yavuz

Çankırı: SELFİNAZ GÖÇMEZ

Çorum: Meliha Üşüdür, HAsibe Beyaz

Denizli: PERİHAN ÜGE, Emine Yalçın, Ayfer İnan

Dersim: Edibe Şahin

Diyarbakır: Nursel aydoğan, Nimettullah Erdoğmuş, Feleknas Uca, Sibel Yiğitalp, Nesrin Hilal Şanlı

Düzce: Yüksel Durak

Edirne: HÜLYA YER

Elazığ: Türkan Bingöl

Erzincan: Fatima Turan

Erzurum: SEHER AKÇINAR BAHA, Dilin Bingöl, Helin Akın, Canşah Çelik

Eskişehir: Rukiye Güven, Gülser Şenşafak, Ceren Gökçe

Giresun: FİLİZ ÇAKIR, Nalan Coşkun

Hakkari: SELMA IRMAK

Hatay: Hilmiye Kızılay, Seyhan Nural, Arife Aynaz, Şirin Nur Vural, Peri Çİftçi

Iğdır: Kıznas Türkali

Isparta: HAZNE ARSLAN, Gözde Kaya, HAcer Ertürk

İstanbul 1. Bölge: Hüda Kaya, Serpil Kemalbay, Nuriye Avşar, Nilgün Ongan, Sezgin Uçar, Semra Güven Alkan, Hürriyet Özçelik, Ümide Aysu, Süheyla İnal, Nurhan Yıldırım, Filiz Yalçın-Engelli, Necmiye Güneş, Semiha Ayşe Ökten Stullthoff, Beste Kaplan, Fatma Saygılı, Ayşegül Şerefhanoğlu

İstanbul 2. Bölge: Filiz Kerestecioğlu, Şerife Erbay, Arife Çınar, Gülsüm Ağaoğlu, Emine Güngör Öztürk, Fatma Özdemir, Meliha Varışlı, Elif Şah Sınıroğlu, İncisel Alptekin, Saime Oğuzhan, Feride Elçin, Dilber Koçak, Meltem Töker

İstanbul 3. Bölge: PERVİN BULDAN, Beyaz Üstün, Ayşe Berktay, Zehra Şahin, Şefika Gürbüz, Halime Yavuz, Hülya İmak, Fatma Beyhan Eroğlu Er Eyüpoğlu, Nazire Güneş, Elif Bulut, Sevgi Yalçın, Dilek Sultan Nayman, Nergiz Vasfioğlu, Burcu Demirbaş, Cemile Akgün, Hülya Bayram

İzmir1.Bölge: Pınar Aydınlar, Ayşe Erkek, Hülya Gülgör, Ülkü Yalçınkaya, Ayşe Fırtına Özen

İzmir 2.Bölge: Eylem Yıldız, Pınar Türk, Semra Uzunok, Berin Esin kaya, Dilek Bakış, Şehnaz Baba Aktaş

Karabük: MÜŞERREF SERAP YOLCU

Kastamonu: Zeynep Özkan,

Kayseri: SULTAN GÜNEŞ ÖZCAN, Nuran Ergen, Güzel Özden

Kırklareli: EMİNE NİLÜFER ATAMAN

Kırşehir: Ayşe Mervan Aytemur

Kocaeli: Ayfer Koçak, Dilber Örnek, Sevda Özer, Ayten Yılmaz, Bediha Salhan

Kütahya: Nermin Birgül, Hakan, Aysun Çelik, Konya, Serap Kaya , Şaziye Şener, Nihal Alaydın, Eylem Almas ,Gülçin Köneş , Günay Sağır

Karaman: Sibel Çelik,

Kırıkkale: Fulya Alikoç, Ayşe Durmuş

Kilis: Tülay Sarı Kabadayı

Maraş: Ayşenur Vazioğlu, Sibel Işık, Meryem Yıldız

Malatya: Perihan YüceKaya, Latife Ulutaş, Betül Kurnaz Kılıç

Manisa Sibel Genç, Gülseren Ongun

Mardin: Gülseren Yıldırım, Enise Güneyli

Mersin: Çilem Küçükkeleş Öz, Özlem Şen, Nursel Demir, Hilal Karahan -SYKP, Şilan Aydın Özgeç

Muğla: HÜRRIYET KARADENIZ, Nurhayat Tekgül, Ayla Apleyla (SYKP)

Muş: BURCU ÇELİK

Nevşehir: Funda Temel

Niğde: İpek Ekrem

Osmaniye: Fatma Sezer

Rize: Selda Karafazlı Kurşun

Sakarya: NESLİN GÜMÜŞ, Leyla Kızıl, Ayşegül Altıntaş, Tülay Demirtaş

Samsun: Makbule Baysal, Emine Çepni, Saliha Alaca

Siirt: Kadriye Yıldırım, hatice Sevim Tekin

Sinop, Ayşegül Kafkas

Silvan: Şahturna Ağdaşa, Mevlüde Acar

Şırnak: Leyla Birlik, Aycan İrmez

Tekirdağ: Sevgi evren, hilal Civil, Elif Güler

Tokat: Bahar Özer, Gülcan Gümüş

Urfa: Dilek Öcalan, Leyla Güven, Gülcan Avcı, Hadle Uğur, Yağmur Akay, Ayşe Doğan

Uşak: ESENGÜL DEMİR

Van: FİGEN YÜKSEKDAĞ, Yurdusev Özsökmenler, Tuba Hezer, Yeliz Yıldırım

Yalova: Aynur Erbay

Yozgat: Çiğdem Sarıoğlu

Zonguldak: Songül Züleyha Tatlı

(fk/cm)