Man is First Openly Gay Parliament Candidate in Turkish History

A man running for parliament in Turkey is the country's first openly gay person to try and seek such a public position in a country where homosexuality is largely frowned upon.

The Independent reports that 37-year-old Baris Sulu is running for the People's Democratic Party (HDP) in the northwestern city of Eskisehir. The election in which Sulu is running for office takes place June 7.

Sulu has been a gay rights activist for the past 17 years and is running on a platform of equal rights for the marginalized LGBT population. Pew has shown that nearly 80 percent of Turks view homosexuality to be morally unacceptable.

Homosexuality is not illegal in Turkey, but the law does not provide the LGBT community with any protections, making discrimination rampant.

Sulu says he has been supported in his efforts by his family and boyfriend. He also says that he hopes other LGBT people will see his work and be inspired to also fight for a better future for themselves.

Although Sulu is the first openly gay candidate in Turkish history, he is not the only member of the LGBT community aspiring for office in the upcoming elections.

Two transgendered women are also running for parliament. They are Deva Ozenen of Izmir who is running for the the Anatolia Party, and Niler Albayrak of Istanbul who is running for the Republican People's Party (CHP).

The CHP is seen as the biggest threat to the decade long dominance of the Islamist AKP party in the June 7 election. Sulu's party would be instrumental in denying the AKP a parliamentary majority, but only if it is able to pass the 10 percent threshold required to hold seats in parliament. A few polls have put the HDP at just slightly above that critical margin.

The election is critical for the AKP as its leader, the dictatorial Recep Tayyip Erdogan, wants to use this parliament to rewrite the constitution, creating a presidential, rather than parliamentary system.