HDP sweeps British vote

HDP supporters danced the halay to celebrate in London

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party was the runaway winner among UK-based expatriates voting in the Turkish general election.

The Peoples’ Democracy Party (HDP) took nearly 60 percent of the 24,606 people who voted in London and Edinburgh in the last weekend of May.

It was the first time Turkish passport holders were able to vote in a general election outside Turkey and the right was enthusiastically embraced: five times as many people came to polling stations than last year’s presidential election.

Flags were waved outside the AK Party headquarters on Sunday when the results were declared

HDP supporters celebrated in London as the result became apparent. Convoys of cars circulated the streets honking their horns and waving Turkish, HDP and Abdullah Ocalan flags. Others gathered at local Kurdish centres to celebrate the news.

Their party took 59.31% – equating to 14,594 votes, according to unofficial results, followed by the social democratic Republican People’s Party on 20.86%.

The conservative AK Party, which lost its majority in Turkey’s parliament as a result of the election, took just 3,548 (14.42%) in Britain.

The nationalist MHP came in fourth place by some distance, with just 722 votes.

How expats voted in the UK

HDP            14,594            59.31%

CHP                5,134            20,86%

AK Party       3,548             14.42%

MHP                 744               3.02%

Others              586               2.38%

Turnout:                                 33%