Opposition in Turkey plan to nominate CHP leader as common candidate

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
4 Mar 2023 19:03

This follows a series of serious conflicts within the opposition parties which have caused for the alliance to dismantle partly.

CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (AFP)

Turkish sources reported on Saturday that Turkey's opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who heads the Republican People's Party (CHP), is not planning to avoid running for the upcoming presidential elections which are scheduled to take place in May.

This follows a series of serious conflicts among the opposition parties which have caused the alliance to dismantle partly. Just a day ago, the leader of Turkey's opposition Good Party, Meral Aksener, said that the party may pull out from the political alliance made up of six opposition parties.

The conflict erupted because five parties suggested Kilicdaroglu as their common candidate at a meeting on Thursday, whereas the Good party expected to discuss the candidacies of Istanbul and Ankara mayors, Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas.

Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported that the five opposition parties, along with the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, are planning to select the CHP leader as their common candidate on March 6, and that he himself has no plans to avoid the nomination.

A recent poll published by Turkish agency Optimar revealed that around 43% of the country's eligible voters are considering re-electing incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The elections are anticipated to be the most polarized this year, determining the fate of 85 million citizens.

Besides a devastating earthquake that has claimed the lives of over 50,000 people in both Turkey and Syria, Turkey is continuing to deal with high inflation and a depreciation of the Turkish lira against the US dollar.

On January 22, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that the general elections will be re-scheduled earlier this year, from June 18 to May 14.

A week later, the opposition vowed to limit the authority of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and return "democracy to the parliamentary institution" in case they win the upcoming elections planned on May 14.