MHP leader slams 6-party alliance over lack of candidate

Devlet Bahçeli, the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has slammed the six-party opposition for not being able to appoint a joint presidential candidate against President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

"Our candidate is certain, and our vote is clear. Our presidential candidate is Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and our objective is to elect him with a big difference," Bahçeli said at a rally in the western town of Manisa over the weekend.

The MHP and Erdoğan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) formed the People's Alliance before the 2018 elections. The six-party opposition formed the Nation Alliance against it but has not yet announced who will stand against Erdoğan in the presidential elections.

"Those who look at foreign powers to nominate a candidate should listen to the crowd in Manisa," Bahçeli said, slamming the opposition for not nominating their candidate. "Kılıçdaroğlu is challenging [against Erdoğan] but he can't still say that he is the candidate. They cannot spill the name because they have not yet been authorized by the foreign powers," he said, referring to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

"The elections in 2023 will determine the fate of Türkiye. Our future will either be lost, or we will break all the plots [against Türkiye[. There is no alternative," he suggested.

The MHP leader also recalled that this will be the second elections Türkiye will hold after it replaced the parliamentary system with the executive-presidential model saying "This era under the presidential system has been very successful. This success should not be abandoned but should be extended with new achievements."

The elections in 2023 will mark the second term of the new system and...