“The chances of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) getting Kurdish parliamentarians has fallen a long way, indeed to zero,” he said.

Temelli accused the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of attacking the Kurds identity by saying “there were no Kurdish provinces.”

“Now we are acting with the idea that even 80 parliamentarians will not be enough. Our aim is to reach over a hundred parliamentarians,” he said adding that his party must overcome attempts by the government at cheating in order to obtain over a hundred seats.

“We know there is fixing, sleight of hand, cheating, repression and prejudice,” he said.

“Therefore, in order to win the match, we must also defeat the referee.”

In the June 7 parliamentary election, the pro-Kurdish HDP passed the election threshold for the first time in its history when it won 13 percent of votes and 80 seats in Parliament, causing the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to lose the parliamentary majority it had enjoyed since 2002, when it first took power.

The HDP gained 59 seats in November elections, just making it in at 10.6 percent – down from the 13.2 percent of votes and 80 parliamentary seats it secured in the previous June 7 elections.

Reporter’s code: 50101