Turkey's Erdogan to run for presidency next year
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While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was hesitant regarding his candidature in April, he announced running for next year's election today.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that he will run again in next year’s election, which will be held in June 2023.
"I am the candidate of the People’s Alliance [electoral alliance that includes the ruling Justice and Development Party], the elections will be in June next year," Erdogan addressed the people in Izmir.
Erdogan's hesitancy
Back in April, it was suggested that Erdogan might nominate another member of the ruling party to run in the 2023 presidential election, as he is unsure of his victory.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) created the People's Alliance to re-elect Erdogan in the previous Turkish general election in 2018.
Furthermore, Turkish nationalist leader and MHP chairman Devlet Bahceli announced in April as well that Erdogan would be the People's Alliance's nominee in the upcoming election, and urged the opposition to choose their candidate as soon as possible.
Karamollaoglu was cited in the Turkish newspaper Haberturk as saying "Mr. Bahceli said to Erdogan: 'This is my candidate!' Has the president ever said 'I am a candidate'? [Erdogan] will not stand and look until the election; if there is a high probability of losing, he will nominate another candidate.
"They say he will not lose himself, but that another candidate will. I'm not sure whether this is correct."
Erdogan's popularity wavering amid economic crisis
The Turkish president has become less popular amid the soaring inflation that has been hitting the country.
In January, he intimidated the local media with legal action for content "incompatible with national and moral values." According to critics, Erdogan's move came as an attempt to stifle dissent.
In the process, he fired his justice minister and the head of the state statistics agency after publishing official data that reveal the inflation rate hit a 19-year high last year.
Erdogan urged authorities to take "legal action" against the "destructive effects" of some media content, without elaborating. Critics said it was yet another attempt to restrict free speech in his run-up to next year's elections.
In a post on Twitter, a veteran journalist and media ombudsman accused Erdogan of declaring a "state of emergency against the media."
