The Turkish opposition united for the elections and put forward a joint candidacy for the presidency in this year’s elections. It was Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who argued on Monday that the six-party bloc was “a bloc of peace and fraternity.” “We will govern Turkey by consultation and consensus,” he said.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu – leader of the centre-left Republican People’s Party (CHP), the largest in Turkey opposition party – on Monday he became the joint candidate of the six-party opposition bloc in the presidential election in 2023.
– We are a bloc of peace and fraternity, with God’s help we will achieve victory together. We will rule Turkey with consultation and consensus,” Kilicdaroglu, 74, said on Monday.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu spoke at the rally on MondayPAP/EPA/LP EREN KAYA/HANDOUT CHP HANDOUT
The opposition wants a return to the parliamentary system
The leaders of the six opposition groups also pledged to return to the parliamentary system (the current one is the presidential system) if they win the elections. According to the agreement, if the election is won, the vice presidents will be the chairmen of the parties that are part of the electoral coalition.
Last week, Meral Aksener – the leader of the second force of Turkey’s opposition bloc, the liberal Good Party (IYI) – announced the party’s departure from the opposition bloc due to the pending candidacy of Kilicdaroglu. She said that the condition for IYI to remain in the pre-election coalition is the nomination of either Ekrem Imamoglu or Mansur Yavas – also CHP politicians – as joint candidates for the mayor of Istanbul or Ankara.
On Monday, Imamoglu and Yavas met Aksener at her party’s headquarters. An IYI spokesman then informed that the group’s leader would take part in the opposition talks and would return to the coalition, provided that the mayors of Turkey’s two largest cities were appointed as vice-presidents after the elections were won.
Elections in Turkey are scheduled for May 2023PAP/EPA/LP EREN KAYA/HANDOUT CHP HANDOUT
Advantage of the opposition bloc in the poll
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested in early March that the presidential and parliamentary elections announced for May 14 would be held as scheduled. There have been voices earlier in the country calling for the vote to be canceled due to the consequences a mighty earthquakewhich hit southeastern Turkey in early February.
Taken at the end of February poll ALF shows that the opposition bloc can count on 47.6 percent. votes polled, and the currently ruling coalition of the conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the National Action Party (MHP) at 35.1 percent.
Main photo source: PAP/EPA/LP EREN KAYA/HANDOUT CHP HANDOUT