Opposition presidential candidate İhsanoğlu kicks off with unity message

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu has unveiled his official presidential election campaign, sending messages of “unity” to the public while vowing to defend “rights and democracy.”

 â€œI am the presidential candidate of all parties. I am not close to one party more than any other. I have a handful of seeds in my hand that I wish to plant,” said the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) joint candidate at the launch of his campaign in Istanbul on July 10, indirectly accusing the government of not showing enough respect to either state institutions and society.

“We will need to plant the seeds of respect to be respectful of the government, the judiciary and all the segments of society. If elected, I will work to improve these relationships in the framework of respect,” İhsanoğlu said.

The former head of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation (OIC) also strongly criticized the government’s foreign policy, ruling out claims by his rival Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu that he had campaigned for remaining neutral in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

He recalled that he mediated for a 2006 deal between Hamas and Fatah in 2006 and added that he played a role in the question of Palestine’s representation at the United Nations and affiliated organizations, even receiving a prestigious award from the Palestinian authorities for his efforts.
Responding to questions from reporters, İhsanoğlu said Turkey’s relations with its neighbors had recently become “problematic.”

“If today your pilots and diplomats are being taken hostage, if you are a target both...