Türkiye’s opposition neared a deal on Monday in which the right-wing Iyi Party could return to an alliance that it quit three days ago against the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in elections set for May.
Under a new proposal following a weekend of political intrigue, two popular mayors would serve as vice presidents should the opposition win in the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14.
Aksener rejected Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy at first
Iyi, the second-biggest in the alliance of six parties, quit the bloc on Friday after leader Meral Aksener rejected the expected choice of Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), as a presidential candidate.
Instead, Aksener proposed that either Ekrem Imamoglu or Mansur Yavas, mayors of Istanbul and Ankara, be the candidate. She claimed opinion polls showed they would win against Erdogan by a large margin.
Proposal for Imamoglu and Yavas to be vice presidents
Hours before the five remaining parties in the alliance were set to announce Kilicdaroglu as their candidate, the two mayors held a brief meeting with Aksener who pitched her proposal.
Aksener put forward an “inclusive” proposal, Iyi spokesperson Kursad Zorlu told reporters.
“She has conveyed the proposal that the two mayors serve as executive vice presidents,” Zorlu said. “Our leader will convey this proposal to Kilicdaroglu in the coming moments.”
The main opposition accepted Aksener’s suggestion
The CHP accepted the suggestion, a senior party official told Reuters. Meanwhile, the opposition has failed in previous national votes to pose a serious challenge to Erdogan, whose AKP came to power in 2002.