Turkish opposition to announce election candidate amid signs of discord

Turkey’s six-party opposition alliance said it would announce its joint candidate next week to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan in the May presidential election, set to be held just three months after a devastating earthquake.

The alliance said it would announce its candidate on Monday, although there are signs of discord about the choice and other issues in the nationalist IYI Party, the second-largest party in the alliance. It said it would hold talks on Friday.

The opposition has failed in previous national votes to pose a serious challenge to Erdogan, who has been in power for two decades but who has seen his popularity dip amid a cost-of-living crisis even before last month’s earthquakes that killed at least 45,000 people in Turkey.

Erdogan indicated on Wednesday that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held on May 14, sticking to a previous plan for the vote, despite criticism of his government’s response to the earthquakes.

The leaders of the six opposition parties met on Thursday with the expectation that they would agree on a joint candidate, who was widely expected to be Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

“We have reached a common understanding concerning our joint presidential candidate for the 13th presidential election and the roadmap for the transition process,” the alliance said.

The statement, signed by all six party leaders, said they would brief their parties’ executive boards before meeting again on Monday “to share the final statement with the public.”

Media reports said party leaders largely voiced support for Kilicdaroglu, although they said there was still opposition to his candidacy within the IYI Party of Meral Aksener.

“There are different opinions about what comes next. It is better not to go into details at this stage. I cannot say that we are satisfied with the point reached. Today will be critical,” said an IYI Party official, who declined to be named.

DOUBTS ON KILICDAROGLU

The IYI Party official said Kilicdaroglu is a strong candidate, but other candidates should be discussed. The CHP mayors of Istanbul and Ankara have been mooted as candidates and polls indicate they could perform better against Erdogan.

But reports of discord within the opposition alliance have raised doubts about its ability to capitalise on the erosion in Erdogan’s popularity shown by the opinion polls.

In the southeastern province of Adiyaman, an AKP stronghold which suffered some of the worst earthquake destruction, some said their support for the government had waned because of its disaster response but they remained unsure about the opposition.

“There are many who want to vote for the opposition, but there are no candidates yet,” said Mahmut in the badly-hit town of Besni. “I wouldn’t vote for Kilicdaroglu. He has not won a single election.”

Erdogan’s government has faced criticism for its handling of the emergency response to the earthquake, adding to what was already expected to be his biggest electoral challenge of his two decades in power as soaring inflation hits living standards.

The opposition has cooperated more closely since its success in taking control of major municipalities, including Istanbul and Ankara, from Erdogan’s ruling AK Party in 2019 local elections.