YEREVAN, MAY 31, ARMENPRESS. Turkey’s Supreme Election Council has released the final lists of candidates submitted by parties for the June 24 snap parliamentary elections, Anadolu reports.

The lists are published in Resmi Gazete official journal.

The parties participating in the elections nominated 4 ethnic Armenian candidates:

Margar Yesayan – Justice and Development Party (ADP)

Garo Paylan – Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)

Ludmila Byuyum – Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)

Elmas Kirakos – Good party

Margar Yesayan from the ruling ADP is famous for his close ties with the Turkish authorities. Since his election in 2015 he hasn’t presented any pro-Armenian initiative. Moreover, in June 2016 he voted in favor of an anti-Armenian report presented by a UK parliamentarian in the PACE, however, it was failed.

Contrary to Yesayan, HDP lawmaker Garo Paylan always raises issues of concern of the Armenian community. He is famous for his courageous speeches at the Turkish Parliament during which he repeatedly talks about the Armenian Genocide calling on the authorities to face with their own history and accept their own crime. The lawmaker even submitted a respective proposal which suggested to officially recognize the 1915 events as genocide. But the proposal was rejected. An investigation has been launched against the lawmaker under the Article 301 of the Penal Code. Within the scope of the investigation a request was made to deprive him of immunity.

Elmas Kirakos was previously a member of the Nationalist Movement party.

Ludmila Byuyum is a PR specialist. Except from Garo Paylan, who has been nominated in Diyarbakir, the remaining candidates have been nominated in Istanbul.

8 parties are participating in the parliamentary elections.

Turkey will hold snap parliamentary and presidential elections on June 24. After the elections the country will transition to a presidential system from the current parliamentary one.

English –translator/editor: Aneta Harutyunyan