Hürriyet: Turkish opposition cannot agree on when to name an election candidate

Turkish opposition cannot agree on when to pick a candidate for the general elections, including the presidential elections on May 14, the Hürriyet newspaper reported.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, amid discussions after crushing earthquakes in the southeast, confirmed that general elections in the country are planned for May 14. The Turkish opposition plans to identify a single candidate on Thursday, with People’s Republican Party (SNR) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as the most likely candidate, but sympathies in the alliance lean toward the incumbent mayor of the capital, Mansur Yavş, as well, with the public being allowed to learn the candidate’s name later.
“At today’s meeting of the “table of six” (as experts and journalists call the regular meetings of the six opposition parties), all signs point to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. According to the CHP wing, the presidential candidate should be determined at today’s meeting. This is because Erdoğan announced the election date. In the opinion of the İyi (Good Party), however, the name of the presidential candidate should not be determined at today’s meeting. The method of determining the candidate will be decided at this meeting. After this meeting, a new meeting is expected in a few days. Kılıçdaroğlu is the favorite,” writes the newspaper.