Kilicdaroglu gets 2 assists on his way to presidency

TURKEY - In Brief 14 Sep 2022 by Atilla Yesilada

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Being busy with the quarterly, I failed to reflect two important controversies in the opposition camp, which received a torrent of negative commentary regarding the durability of the main opposition alliance, now dubbed the Table of Six (ToS) and whether pro-Kurdish Right Movement party HDP would support its legislative proposals in the post-election Grand assembly, if such assistance is needed. The debate about these two questions linger in the columns of pro-opposition media, but to me, they are foregone conclusions. The ToS is committed to see the election through together. HDP will lend support to Kilicdaroglu if he is anointed the joint candidate of the opposition. Finally and most importantly, assists by IYIP leader Mrs. Meral Aksener and imprisoned spiritual leader of the Kurdish rights movement, Mr. Selahaddin Demirtas, suggest there are few barriers to Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy. Before writing this Brief I debated in my mind at length whether I should explain in detail what all the fuss was about the imminent break-down of the ToS and why suddenly IYIP and HDP began firing at each other across the bow. I decided not to provide too much detail, because the topic is highly parochial (Tukey-specific) and is already concluded. I’ll merely state that by sheer bad luck or carelessness, a CHP frontliner, Mr. Gursel Tekin stoked the long-simmering antagonism between IYIP, which is trying to claim the mantle of both nationalist MHP and the old center right; and HDP. This put CHP in a very awkward position, because it is also the main link within the ToS to HDP and its leader Kilicdaroglu needs the Kurdish vote to beat Erdogan in the presidential elections. For a few day...