Aksener returns, Kilicdaroglu nominated for Turkish presidential elections
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – After a meeting between the six Turkish opposition parties, a coalition attempting to dethrone President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the coming elections, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), was officially nominated as the group’s presidential candidate.
The National Alliance went through a tumultuous weekend when Meral Aksener, leader of IYI party, announced leaving the coalition over the election of Kilicdaroglu.
Provocatively, Aksener asked two other CHP heavy-hitters – the mayors of Istanbul and Ankara – to declare their own candidacy in direct defiance of their own party, anyway, Both men were quick to stand behind Kilicdaroglu.
After a scheduled meeting on Monday, the six parties which form the coalition, including Aksener and her IYI Party, announced a joint 11-point plan for the election, as well as the official nomination of Kilicdaroglu. The points included establishing a “decision-making process based on consensus and consultation” if the coalition were to take power, as well as ministerial posts for each of the six parties. Kilicdaroglu pledged to leave his position as CHP leader if elected.
Conflicting reports surround the position of the vice presidency. James in Turkey, a political analyst, said Aksener had agreed to return to the National Alliance if the two CHP mayors were made “executive, authorised vice presidents.”
On the other hand, Al-Monitor reported that the six parties agreed that the representatives of each of the junior partners to the coalition would serve as a co-vice president.
For this to occur, the bloc first needs to win the upcoming elections, which remain too close to call. Aksener’s antics set the party back by revealing internal splits. Her return also likely precludes the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the second-largest opposition party in parliament, from joining the alliance. The HDP have yet to announce their candidates. Their endorsement could be decisive for the opposition to defeat Erdogan.