Turkish opposition political forces failed to choose a single presidential candidate against the current head of state, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. From the leading opposition parties in Turkey, two popular candidates will participate in the elections at once.
According to the Turkish edition Hurriyat, the leader of the Memleket party, Muharrem Ince, flatly refused to withdraw his candidacy in favor of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who was nominated by the Popular Alliance bloc. In 2018, Mr. Ince already ran for president, then he won 30% of the vote and took second place. According to the newspaper, despite the fact that this time Muharrem Ince has almost no chance of repeating his success, he believes that he cannot let his supporters down and refuse to participate in the campaign.
Many representatives of the Turkish opposition are calling on Muharrem Ince to withdraw his candidacy from the elections, Hurriyet reports. Oppositionists fear that Mr. Ince may prevent Kemal Kılıçdaroglu from winning in the first round and take away some of his votes.
Turkish presidential elections are scheduled for May 14. It was decided not to postpone the voting date, despite the fact that in early February Turkey experienced a devastating earthquake that claimed the lives of more than 50 thousand people, and therefore voting in a number of areas in the southeast will be held in extreme conditions.
According to the Daily Sabah, now the main favorites for the presidential elections are Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the single candidate from six opposition parties, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Read more about the presidential election campaign in Turkey in the Kommersant publication Time to Gather Personnel.
