The leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has said a bloc of opposition parties is likely to announce its joint candidate for the presidency following confirmation of the election date, the Turkish media reported.
CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, speaking at an event in Ankara on Sunday, said leaders of the opposition bloc parties normally name their presidential candidate following confirmation of the election date by the Supreme Election Council (YSK).
The opposition bloc, consisting of six opposition parties including the CHP, has not yet announced their candidate, while President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has already declared that he will be the presidential candidate of the “Public Alliance,” comprising his Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).
Kılıçdaroğlu said the six opposition parties will jointly decide on their presidential candidate. They have already determined the necessary qualifications but have yet to decide on the contender.
The opposition bloc is criticized for being very late to announce their candidate as only six months are left before the presidential and parliamentary elections slated for June.
Among the potential presidential candidates of the opposition bloc are Kılıçdaroğlu, İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, both from the CHP.