Turkey’s frazzled political opposition is set to reunite after key leaders resolved a spat over who should be their joint candidate to compete against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May elections.
(Bloomberg) —
Turkey’s frazzled political opposition is set to reunite after key leaders resolved a spat over who should be their joint candidate to compete against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May elections.
The Republican People’s Party, known as CHP, will endorse Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu as running mates for CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, party officials with direct knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.
The decision to enlist the two widely popular mayors on the election ticket will suffice to bring back Iyi Party Chairwoman Meral Aksener, who indicated last week that she may pull her group out of the opposition alliance, according to another official with direct knowledge of the matter. All spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
Monday’s fast-paced developments are set to provide a boost to the opposition alliance, which was near the brink of a collapse last week. Aksener insisted Kilicdaroglu didn’t have the popularity to beat Erdogan at the ballot box, calling on the mayors of Turkey’s two largest cities to run for president instead.
Markets Rally
Turkish stocks rallied on the news, driven by banks. The key Borsa Istanbul 100 index was up 3.1% as of 3:16 p.m. while an index tracking banks was up 8.2%. in Istanbul. Five-year credit default swaps, which measure the cost of insuring against possible default on Turkish debt, declined to 535 basis points, the biggest intra-day drop in a month in percentage terms.
The two mayors have emerged as popular names in the polls, and they appear to have more traction than Kilicdaroglu.
Under the arrangement, Yavas and Imamoglu won’t have to resign from their mayoral duties before the elections, the people said.
The opposition alliance is made up of six parties, including two of Erdogan’s former allies.
Voters appear split when it comes to the opposition.
Less than half of the electorate is expected to vote in favor of Erdogan’s AK Party and its nationalist allies, according to recent polling. But those voting for the opposition are torn mainly between the six parties and the pro-Kurdish HDP.
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