Jailed Kurdish leader says Erdogan seeking pre-election 'chaos' but will fail

FILE PHOTO: A supporter of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) holds a mask of their jailed former leader and presidential candidate Selahattin Demirtas during a rally in Ankara, Turkey, June 19, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -A jailed Kurdish leader said an attempt to ban his leftist party was part of Tayyip Erdogan's plans to foment "chaos" in Turkey's opposition ahead of elections this year, but said it would not save the president from defeat after two decades in power.

In comments to Reuters from Edirne jail in northwest Turkey, Selahattin Demirtas urged the country's main opposition bloc to cooperate with his pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) to win presidential and parliamentary elections expected in May.