Turkey’s main opposition party leader has confirmed, though tentatively, that he would run for president in the upcoming elections if the other parties in the opposition alliance decided to endorse him.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) answered a very direct question from journalist Candaş Tolga Işık on Tuesday during a live interview.
Işık asked: “Mr. chairman, do you wish to be the president?”
“Nothing negative about it, in case the alliance accepts it,” replied Kılıçdaroğlu, and when Işık thanked him for being frank, Kılıçdaroğlu went on saying:
“Let me explain, we do have an alliance, true. The leaders in the alliance have never discussed this before. We’ve never talked about this. So I’m not in a position to declare anything on behalf of the whole alliance.”
Işık intervened: “No, I just wondered if you, as Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, personally had an interest.”
“If the alliance accepts my candidacy, I would be honoured,” Kılıçdaroğlu said, confirming his intention.
In Turkey, although there’s never been any question about the current president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan running again in the next election, the candidate of the opposition has always been unclear and an issue of speculation.
