Organization of Islamic Cooperation

The former head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), nominated by the two major opposition parties represented at the Turkish Parliament as their joint presidential candidate on June 16, has addressed secular voters in his first interview.

In the past couple of months, a curious theme in Turkish politics was the candidate that opposition parties would show for the presidential race in August. It had become clear that the governing AKP (Justice and Development Party) would support its leader Tayyip Erdoğan for this top post.

Turkey's major opposition parties have nominated a single candidate for the upcoming presidential elections by choosing the former chief of an Islamic body.

The two main opposition parties are planning to establish a joint election campaign center for an efficient bid by their joint candidate, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, in a rare instance of cooperation between Turkish political parties.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has refused to comment on the nomination of Ekmelettin İhsanoğlu as the joint opposition presidential candidate, simply stating that the “most valuable evaluation” will be made by the people in the election.

The appointment of Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu’s as the opposition’s joint candidate for Turkey’s next president will be positive for the country given his vast knowledge and experience in the Middle East, the head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) has said.

After weeks of meetings, the two major opposition parties have come up with a joint candidate for the first round of the presidential elections set for Aug. 10.

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."

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, a senior academic and diplomat nominated June 16 by Turkey’s two major opposition parties as their joint candidate to run against an expected bid by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the August presidential election, has actually become a more visible figure for the Turkish public after his election as the head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in

Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the former head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), who has been nominated as the joint presidential candidate of Turkey’s two major opposition parties, quickly topped Twitter’s Worldwide Trending Topics list on June 16.