As general elections approach,  SPoD LGBTI representatives who have started the “LGBTI in Parliament” campaign for the active participation of LGBTIs in decision and policy making, have published a declaration inviting MP candidates, political parties and party leaders  to work together. Knocking on the doors of political parties one by one and demanding support for the participation of LGBTIs in politics, SPoD LGBTI representatives have announced that they will be following the candidate selection processes closely.

The full text of the declaration is as follows:

As general elections approach, we have conveyed our demand for support of political participation of LGBTI in the political parties we have been contacting since the day we started the “LGBTIs in the parliament” campaign for the active participation of LGBTIs in decision and policy making, We have also announced that we will be following the candidate selection processes closely in this capacity.

In this process, LGBTI activists have announced their candidacy for nomination from different political parties. Barış Sulu, Pelin Kalkan, İpek Kırancı, Gamze Yıldırım from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Niler Albayrak from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and Deva Elena Özenen from Anatolia Party have announced that they will be present in the race for elections with their openly gay and trans identities.

Niler Albayrak entered the pre-election from the CHP Istanbul 3rd region and is 83rd among the 126 candidates in nomination with 3007 votes. In spite of this success in such a short time, she was not able to receive sufficient votes to become a candidate for MP. Among these names, Barış Sulu and Deva Elena Özenen were nominated as MP candidates from the HDP Eskişehir in the 6th rank and from Anadolu Party Izmir 2nd region in the 5th rank respectively.

We believe that political parties should execute their candidate nomination processes in a more participatory and transparent manner and that this is a necessity of democracy. We would like to congratulate LGBTI rights activists for their nomination and we firmly believe that their nominations are an important step forward for the visibility of LGBTIs in politics. Through our “LGBTI in the Parliament” campaign, we invite MP candidates, political parties and party leaders  to work with us for the designation of their policies in the field of LGBTI rights.

For your inquiries regarding the news and interviews:

MEHTAP DOĞAN

Media Partner Communication Consultancy

Media Director

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LGBTI NEWS TURKEY is the official translation source for SPoD LGBTI’s “In school, at work, in the parliament: LGBTIs are everywhere!” campaign, which is endorsed by the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC).