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Four candidates are ready to fight in the Turkish presidential election May 14, 2023. They include the incumbent candidate, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Photo/Duvar English
ANKARA – Four candidates will fight in the Turkish presidential election (Pilpres) on May 14, 2023. They include the incumbent candidate, namely President Recep Tayyip Erdogan .
The final list of four presidential candidates for Turkey—the country which has now changed its name to Turkiye—was officially released on Friday (31/3/2023).
Erdogan became the candidate of the ruling People’s Alliance. The alliance is supported by the Islamic Movement Party (HÜDAPAR) and the Homeland Party (ANAVATAN).
Erdogan, who has led Turkey for the last two decades, faces the toughest election of his career as a deepening cost of living crisis and rebuilding of earthquake-shattered cities puts his rule to the test.
These are 3 Candidates for President of Türkiye Challenger Erdogan
Each candidate must win more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a runoff two weeks later.
Quoting Bloomberg, the three presidential candidates challenging Erdogan in the upcoming May 14 Turkish presidential election are:
1. Kemal Kilicdaroglu
He is a candidate for the Alliance of Nations, the largest opposition stronghold. This alliance is supported by the True Party, the Social Liberties Party (TÖP), the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and the People’s Liberation Party (HKP) which are minor parties with no parliamentary existence.
2. Muharrem Ince
Ince is the leader of the Homeland Party. He split from Kilicdaroglu’s party in 2021.
İnce received 114,657 signatures from voters.
The requirement to become a candidate who has no alliances in Parliament is to obtain support in the form of a minimum of 100,000 signatures of voters.
Ince’s promotion has drawn criticism because he is seen as endangering the votes of the opposition, which wants to defeat Erdogan.
3. Sinan Ogan
He represents the right-wing ATA Alliance backed by five nationalist parties including the anti-immigrant Zafer Party.
Ogan has received 111,502 signatures from voters so he can run as a presidential candidate.
The Labor and Freedom Alliance made up of several leftist parties including the People’s Democratic Party (HDP) and the Labor Party of Turkey (TİP) previously announced that they would not field candidates for the presidential election.
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