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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan now knows who he will face this May, in the most hotly contested elections in his 20-year rule: Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
After weeks of fierce negotiations that saw the opposition alliance, consisting of parties across the political spectrum from left to right, come close to falling apart, the so-called “Table of Six” coalition officially picked Kılıçdaroğlu as their joint candidate on Monday.
The main opposition leader made an announcement after the six parties’ representatives met in Ankara, saying that the people’s coalition would “run the country in consultation and agreement with one another.”
Kılıçdaroğlu, who has led the center-left Republican People’s Party (CHP) for over a decade, is an understated 74-year-old former bureaucrat from the country’s social security authority.
Nicknamed the “Turkish Gandhi” for his slight build and humble style, he is widely credited with his party’s recent electoral successes.
But analysts have questioned his ability to pose a real threat to Erdoğan, whose rule has been largely unchallenged since his rise to power in 2003, when he became prime minister.
Yet, Erdoğan has never looked more vulnerable, as Turkey’s 85 million people are battling a major cost-of-living crisis and double-digit inflation, and the current president has also been criticized over his response to the devastating earthquakes that killed tens of thousands in February.
The election’s outcome will be keenly watched as observers seek to determine whether Erdoğan — who is walking a difficult political tightrope over Russia’s war against Ukraine — will push the country in a more traditionalist, religiously conservative direction, or whether a new leader will be able to reset damaged relations with the West.
Ahead of the general election, expected to be held on May 14, Kılıçdaroğlu is backed by a coalition of six parties that came close to collapsing last week, as a key member of the alliance — the leader of the right-wing Good Party (IYI) Meral Akşener — said she would leave the coalition over disagreements regarding a joint presidential pick.
Akşener said she would back either Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, or the high-profile mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoğlu, instead of Kılıçdaroğlu.
She eventually rejoined the alliance on Monday, following a proposal that the two mayors could be included on the ticket as vice presidents. However, in his announcement, Kılıçdaroğlu said that the leaders of the other five opposition parties included in the coalition would be appointed as his vice presidents.
The coalition’s 12-point agreement, which was released immediately after the speech, additionally states that the two mayors will be appointed as vice presidents with specific duties when Kılıçdaroğlu sees fit.
Leyla Aksu contributed reporting.
