Istanbul, Ankara mayors to serve as vice presidents: Kılıçdaroğlu

Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş, mayors of Istanbul and Ankara respectively, will serve as the vice presidents if the Nation Alliance wins the presidential polls, Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the joint candidate of the opposition and Chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP) stated.

Kılıçdaroğlu attended the inauguration of a new center for women in the Bağcılar district of Istanbul built by the Istanbul Municipality, on March 26 with Mayor İmamoğlu and other mayoral authorities.

"Ekrem İmamoğlu will serve as the vice president. This way, we will remove all the existing obstacles in front of his service to the residents of Istanbul. He will, at the same time, serve the entire country," Kılıçdaroğlu said.

"Likewise, Mansur Yavaş. He will be the vice president, and the mayors of our two historically important cities will serve the nation," Kılıçdaroğlu underlined.

In the event that Kılıçdaroğlu wins the presidency, Yavaş and İmamoğlu will be appointed as vice presidents along with the leaders of the five political parties in the Nation Alliance. The timing of their appointment will be decided by Kılıçdaroğlu, according to a protocol signed by the Nation Alliance. İstanbul sends around 100 and Ankara more than 60 deputies to the 600-seat Turkish Parliament.

Kılıçdaroğlu vowed to prioritize rule of law, justice, development and democracy for each and every citizen of the country once elected as the president.

"Yes, we want government but what for? For gender equality, for peace and welfare in every household, for justice, for ending discrimination… We want government to end conflicts by making peace," Kılıçdaroğlu stated.