Violent protests have erupted across Turkey in response to an announcement by the country’s High Election Board that it is considering banning 12 candidates from upcoming June elections.
The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BPD) supports all 12 candidates. The candidates registered as independents to go around a legality which stipulates that BPD needs 10 percent of votes to gain representation in parliament, according to a report by VOA.
BPD was set to enter all of its 61 candidates to strengthen it’s power base in case it failed to secure the 10 percent vote, Reuters reported.
Protestors say the ban is discrimination against the Kurds. One man was killed in the southeast of the country when demonstrators took to the streets for a second day to protest the ban, Reuters reported.