Presidential elections without oppositional candidates

Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu will be in Essen, Germany on June 7 to address Turks residing in Germany and other corners of Europe, to convince them to vote for the candidate that the social democrat party will appoint for the Aug. 10 polls. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan did the same thing on May 24 as he visited the German city of Cologne to ask Turks living abroad to vote for the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) candidate.

Erdoğan will make another tour to Europe between June 22 and 24, this time to Austria and France, where some half a million Turks reside. It’s not yet sure whether the ruling party will be able to announce its presidential candidate before these dates.

The whole of Turkey is discussing the presidential elections, but no any party has yet announced its candidate for the most prestigious post of the Turkish state. The Supreme Elections Council (YSK) has announced that it will accept official nominations starting from June 29 until July 3, with the official commencement of the campaign slated for July 11. Although there is still time for parties to continue consultations, it’s also important to see that the time is getting thin, especially for opposition parties who have less access and communication means compared to the AKP. 

The CHP’s Kılıçdaroğlu said he was not of the opinion that his party was getting late in announcing its candidate, but hinted that the decision could be announced soon after consultations with other political parties, particularly with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The two parties have long been pondering a joint candidate to stand against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, but the...