Turkish 'Good Party' not to support Erdogan in event of 2nd Round

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Mar 2023 18:56

'Good Party' spokesman Turhan Comez said that leader Meral Aksener had no plans of being the opposition's candidate herself and that the Good Party has nothing against Kilicdaroglu's candidacy.

'Good Party' spokesman Turhan Comez (Twitter)

A spokesman for the Good Party's leader Turhan Comez said on Monday that the Good Party does not intend to support Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the event that presidential elections enter their second round.

The party's leader Meral Aksener said on March 3 that the Good Party is considering a full withdrawal from the opposition after stating that the alliance no longer reflected the real interests of the Turkish people.

The clash occurred because the Good party wanted to discuss the candidacies of Istanbul and Ankara mayors, Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas, whilst the five remaining parties of the opposition alliance agreed to propose the candidacy of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP).

"I am sorry to say that as of yesterday, the Table of Six has lost its ability to reflect the will of the nation in its decisions," Aksener said after meeting her party delegates on Friday.

The term "Table of Six" refers to talks that have been ongoing among parties of the opposition since February 2022.

During an interview with HalkTV on Monday, Comez said "if the second round of the presidential election takes place, we will gather all support against Erdogan," noting that Aksener had no plans of being the opposition's candidate herself and that the Good Party has nothing against Kilicdaroglu's candidacy.

When asked to comment on Aksener's statements on "a playing table" and "a notary's office", Comez clarified that the politician referred to an alliance between Erdogan's party and the Nationalist Movement Party instead of an opposition alliance.

The elections are anticipated to be the most polarized this year, determining the fate of 85 million citizens in the nation of 3 continents: Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

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 rescheduled 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.