The number of candidates for the Turkish presidency reached 9, including the current Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the head of the “Republican People’s Party” Kamal Kilicdaroglu, whose party-led “Six-Party Table” alliance agreed to choose him this month as a joint candidate for the alliance.
Will the number of candidates increase or decrease while leaving the door for candidacy open until the end of March?
According to Kemal Ozkiraz, director of the Turkish “Eurasia” Center for Public Research, which periodically conducts opinion polls on political, social and economic issues in the country, the current number of presidential candidates in Turkey could go up or down with a two-week nomination period and ongoing negotiations between parties to form alliances. Election and selection of joint candidates. He told Al-Arabiya.net, “The current number of candidates is subject to change. For example, it may decrease if the head of the Country Party and former presidential candidate, Muharram Ince, withdraws his candidacy request in favor of his former party leader, Kilicdaroglu.”
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (AFP)
A few days ago, Ince submitted his official candidacy request for the “Al-Balad” party, which he founded in May of the year 2021, after he resigned in early February of the same year, from the “Republican People’s Party”, which is the main opposition party in Turkey, for which Ince was his presidential candidate. In the 2018 elections, in which he won more than 30% of the vote, and recorded an increase of about 5% compared to previous candidates for the “Republican People” in the presidential elections.
Two primary candidates
In addition, Ozkiraz considered that “there are two main candidates in the elections, Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu,” adding that “the rest of the names are marginal and unpopular, with the exception of Ince, who is the most important after the main competitors in the presidential and parliamentary elections,” which Turkey will witness on May 14. .
He also saw that “the importance of Ince’s candidacy lies in continuing his candidacy or withdrawing his application and declaring support for Kilicdaroglu.”
6 more
In addition to Erdoğan, Kilicdaroglu and Ince, the non-final list of candidates included 6 other candidates: Dogu Brinkek, head of the “Watan” party, Ahmed Ozal, head of the “One” party, Fatih Erbakan, head of the “New Welfare” party, and Ozturk Yilmaz, head of the “Renewal” party. Cem Ozan, former head of the “Youth” party, and Sinan Ogan, who belongs to the far-right “Victory” party.
The nomination door will officially close on March 31, and a pro-Kurdish party has not yet decided on its role in the presidential elections whether it will run with a candidate from its members or support the candidate of the six-party table, Kilicdaroglu, who enjoys good relations with the leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party.
Erdogan and Kemal
Democratic People’s Party
Al-Arabiya.net obtained information from the pro-Kurdish party, which plays a major role in the elections, stating that it will officially announce this week its candidate or its support for the “six-party table” candidate.
It is expected that the Democratic People’s Party will support the candidate of the “six-party table” instead of choosing a candidate from its members, given that his victory is not possible, which will force the party to determine the electoral alliance that will vote for its candidate in the second round of the elections, which is what it avoids, according to the previous source. Who also revealed Kilicdaroglu’s upcoming visit to the headquarters of the pro-Kurdish party in Ankara.
The electoral campaign will start on the government and opposition media outlets with the closing of the door for candidacy at the end of this month.
It is noteworthy that the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held before the centenary of the founding of the “republic” and after more than three months have passed since two devastating earthquakes struck the south of the country, leaving tens of thousands dead and massive damage to the infrastructure.
