Six tables decide presidential candidate: name to be announced on Monday

Before the earthquake that hit Kahramanmaras and killed countless people, the first item on the agenda in our country was the presidential elections announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which will be held on May 14th. In recent days, some politicians close to the government have called for a postponement of the election, citing the earthquake, and the call has sparked discussions about whether elections can be postponed or even cancelled. After that, the 2023 presidential election came to the fore again, the results of which were eagerly awaited, and the pre-election debate began again.

In this regard, a very important event took place yesterday (March 2). The national alliance, called the “Six Tables” and made up of components of the Republican People’s Party, the Good Party, the Happy Party, the Democratic Party, the Future Party and the DEVA Party, met for the 12th time to determine the opposition’s presidential candidate. After the meeting, the 6 parties published a text stating that a consensus had been reached on “defining a presidential candidate and a roadmap for the transition process.” However, it was stated that the presidential candidate would be presented to the public on Monday, March 6. Let’s look at the details together.

Presidential elections have long been the first item on the agenda of Turkish politics

It is also very curious which candidates will be elected in the elections scheduled for May 14. The ruling wing had previously announced that they would hold elections with current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. However, although the names of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Mansur Yavaş and Ekrem Imamoğlu have been made public, it is not clear who will be the opposition’s presidential candidate, which will run as the National Alliance.

Table of Six met yesterday at 14.20 for the 12th time.

The meeting, held at the headquarters of the Happiness Party, was one of the most important meetings held by the Six Tables to date.

The written statement, signed by the leaders of 6 opposition parties, speaks of reaching a consensus on a joint presidential candidate and a roadmap for the transition process.

However, the question of “who is the opposition presidential candidate”, the answer to which has long been sought, after this meeting did not receive an answer. The National Alliance will announce the candidate who will run in the 13th presidential election after the meeting, which will take place on Monday, March 6, and will again be organized by the Happiness Party.

The full text of the statement is as follows:As leaders of the political parties that make up the Alliance of the Nation, we have come to a common understanding regarding our common presidential candidate and the roadmap for the transition process in the 28th parliamentary elections and the 13th presidential elections. We will meet again, organized by the Party of Happiness, to share the final statement with the public on March 6, 2023, after the presidents have briefed the empowered councils of their parties.”

According to some media reports, the leaders, with the exception of Meral Aksener, chairman of the IYI party, agreed on the candidacy of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, chairman of the Republican People’s Party.

However, it was stated that Akşener, who had previously attracted attention for his “candidate for victory”, wanted the candidate to be determined based on opinion polls and entered the names of Mansour Yavas and Ekrem İmamoğlu in the table. On the other hand, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is said to have opined that “mayors should continue to carry out their duties”.

The CHP staff reportedly congratulated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu after a meeting where it was announced that a consensus had been reached on a presidential candidate.

After the six-table meeting, CHP chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu met with members of the UCM of his party. It became known that high-ranking party officials congratulated Kılıçdaroğlu by saying “good luck”, and the CHP chairman replied to his staff “wait for Monday.”

After the six-table meeting, which has become one of the important agenda items in Turkey, there have been busy hours behind the scenes of the IYI Party.

After the six-table meeting, IYI Party Chairman Meral Akşener met with members of the presidential council at the headquarters at 10.30 pm. Aksener will also reportedly meet with provincial presidents and members of the General Administrative Council and announce the final decision at a six-table meeting to be held on Monday, after assessing Kılıçdaroğlu’s candidacy in the authorized committees.

IYI Party Sakarya deputy and head of finance Yumit Dikbayir, who is said to be one of Akşener’s close names, shared on his Twitter account, “A nation is more than 5.”

This exchange of Dikbayir was seen as a reaction against the 5 opposition parties that supported Kılıçdaroğlu’s candidacy. Shortly thereafter, Dikbayir deleted his Twitter post.

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