İYİ Party leader says opposition’s presidential candidate should attract every voter group

Duvar English

The right-wing opposition İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener on Dec. 02 said that the opposition’s presidential candidate should attract every voter group in Turkey.

“The candidate should want to win the (pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP)) voters as well. The candidate should get every group’s vote,” Akşener made the comments to broadcaster Habertürk. 

The main opposition alliance consists of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), İYİ (Good) Party Felicity (Saadet) Party, Democrat Party (DP), DEVA (Democracy and Progress) Party, and Future (Gelecek) Party. 

Their leaders founded “The Table of Six” and have met regularly since Feb. 2022, discussing how they will approach the elections that were scheduled to be held in 2023 and transform the political system of the country should they come to power. 

Akşener said they will stick with the Table and that if opposition leaders in the Table cannot agree with each other, they would be punished by voters.

Lately, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on called İYİ Party to reconsider their position in the opposition alliance, which was slammed by İYİ Party officials.

“Erdoğan has been inviting me (to his side) for 20 years. Why do I not join? Mr. Erdoğan is making his supporters rich, I want the nation to be rich. Mr. Erdoğan wants the one-man system, I want the people’s rule. Mr. Erdoğan is in favor of tyranny, I am in favor of freedom,” Akşener said.

For the opposition’s candidate, Akşener said she does not find it right to talk about candidates so much because the Table is founded to replace the presidential system.

“I call out to Mr. Erdoğan and his friends. Take the election decision on Monday, we will announce our candidate on Tuesday,” she stated.

Akşener also said she has not talked to CHP’s Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu or Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş about the candidacy. However, she says she will not object if the Table of Six decides to name one of them as the candidate.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has already announced his candidacy for the presidency. While some senior CHP figures claimed that Kılıçdaroğlu will be their candidate, there is no official announcement yet.

Some experts say that CHP’s Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu or Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş should run for presidency because Kılıçdaroğlu may not attract enough conservative voters from the ruling alliance. They also think that Erdoğan's election campaign may prevail against Kılıçdaroğlu because of the former's rhetoric. 

The HDP officials also say they are very open to having “a joint candidate” as long as their principles are satisfied.