ISTANBUL
The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) has achieved a "great victory" in passing the 10 percent threshold in Turkey’s general election and will now enter the Turkish parliament for the first time, the party's leader said Sunday night.
"We achieved a great victory and a great success by being on the side of peace, justice and freedom," HDP Co-Chairman Selahattin Demirtas told supporters in Istanbul.
Demirtas said that the discussions about a new presidential system in Turkey had come to an end with the unofficial election result and dismissed any coalition bid with the Justice and Development (AK) Party.
"We will not form any coalition [government], whether inside or outside, with the AK party," he said.
Demirtas said that the victory belonged to all ethnic identities, faiths and those who wanted peace and supported a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue in the country.
"This is a joint victory for those who say 'I want Kurds to live in this country as honored people and citizens'," he remarked.
He pledged to take the party forward that would serve Turkey.
"From now on, the HDP is a real party of Turkey; Turkey is HDP and HDP is Turkey," Demirtas said and added they would reveal a stance which would not embarrass anyone.
According to the unofficial election results, Turkey's AK Party won its fourth consecutive general election Sunday but failed to gain the majority needed to form a government.
The results showed that the AK party secured 40.79 percent of the vote with 99.86 percent of ballots counted, which gave it 258 seats at the parliament, 18 short of a simple majority.
The second-placed Republican People’s Party (CHP) secured 25.07 percent of vote to take 132 seats while the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) gained 16.38 percent to gain 81 seats.
The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) passed the 10 percent threshold with 12.98 percent of the vote to take 79 seats -- the first time it will enter parliament as a party.
The turnout was 86.47 percent.
