The Turkish opposition has nominated its candidate against President Erdogan
Six Turkish opposition parties have chosen Felicity Party leader Kemal Kilidaroglu to face Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the presidential election.
Kemal Kilicadoglu after a meeting of various opposition parties in Ankara on Monday, March 6, 2023.
AFP
A coalition of six Turkish opposition parties on Monday named its main body leader Kemal Klitaroglu to face President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the May 14 presidential election.
“Kemal Kilicadaroglu is our presidential candidate,” Felicity Party leader Temel Karamolaglu told a crowd outside his party’s headquarters in Ankara where leaders of six parties met on Monday. The heads of five other organizations of the coalition, including Kemal Klisadaroglu, were at his side during the announcement.
Despite the February 6 earthquake that killed more than 46,000 people and devastated the southern and southeastern parts of the country, Turkish presidential and legislative elections have been kept on schedule. Kemal Klisateroglu, head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP, Social Democrat) since 2010, has promised to return to the democratic game if elected in May.
“Total Change”
“Let us all stand together and uphold the power of morality and justice,” Kemal Klisadaroglu declared before the crowd after his appointment. “We, as a national coalition, will lead Turkey on the basis of consultation and reconciliation,” he promised.
“Let’s give back to the people what was stolen from the people (…) I’m not the candidate, it’s all of us,” he launched in front of his party’s headquarters, surrounded by cheers. Popular CHP mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas.
Determined to implement a “total change”, the opposition coalition wants to return Turkey to a parliamentary system, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan concentrating all executive power after a switch to a presidential system.
If Kemal Klisadaroglu is elected, the heads of the other five bodies of the alliance will be appointed as vice-chairmen. In the agreement signed by the coalition’s six parties, the popular CHP mayors of Istanbul and Ankara also have a specific role: if Kemal Kilicdaroglu wins, they will be appointed vice-presidents “in due course”.
“Overthrow this government”
However, some opposition supporters criticize the outgoing head of state, Kemal Klisadaroglu, a 74-year-old former senior civil servant from the Alevi minority, as a candidate for his successor.
On Friday, the coalition failed to explode with the election of Kemal Klisadaroglu: Merel Aksener, the head of the Good Party (nationalist), the coalition’s second most important organization, strongly opposed his nomination before resuming. A seat at the coalition table on Monday. A promise to appoint the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara as future vice presidents played a key role in his return.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose popularity has been fueled by the economic crisis in Turkey, must respond to slow relief in the hours following the February 6 earthquake. Condemning “incompetence” and corruption at the head of the country, Kemal Klisadaroglu did not fail to point out.
Dangerous ballot
While apologizing for the delay in relief, the 69-year-old Turkish president has made reconstruction of the devastated areas his guiding principle. According to opinion polls, the May 14 presidential election promises to be his most dangerous since he came to power as prime minister in 2003.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party AKP (Islamo-conservative) have already lost the municipalities of Istanbul and Ankara in favor of the CHP, a severe setback. The pro-Kurdish leftist party HDP may now seek support for Kemal Kılıçateroğlu to “get rid of this government,” its co-chairman Mitad Sankar said on the Haberturk TV channel on Monday evening.
HDP, the third party in the parliament, got 12% of the votes in the last assembly elections. The party has so far been kept out of the alliance by the presence of the Pan Party, which is not compatible with the HDP. The opposition has less than ten weeks left to push its program and campaign across the country.
AFP
Did you find an error?Please let us know.
“Avid gamer. Social media geek. Proud troublemaker. Thinker. Travel fan. Problem solver.”