CHP blows hot and cold on İhsanoğlu move as AKP heralds 'end of opposition'

The announcement of Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the former head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as the joint opposition presidential candidate has drawn mixed reactions from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), while a senior Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker heralded “the end of the opposition."

Reactions poured in after the unexpected announcement by CHP head Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli in a joint press statement following their meeting in Ankara, June 16.

Although İhsanoğlu’s nomination received general support within the CHP, a number of dissidents questioned whether the choice truly represented the party.

İhsanoğlu’s nomination received general support from the two parties, although some dissidents in the CHP reacted negatively to the selection. Hüseyin Aygün, the CHP’s Tunceli deputy, complained through his Twitter account that the party should have nominated “a leftist candidate” for the post.

CHP Istanbul deputy Nur Serter, meanwhile, criticized the party leadership for İhsanoğlu’s appointment, stressing that he “did not represent” the CHP. “I am in deep sorrow and shame. A dagger has been stabbed into the heart of the CHP. We will evaluate what we will do with our friends,” she told daily Hürriyet. Serter is a representative of the party’s Kemalist faction, staunchly loyal to secular and republican views.

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