Mayors of İstanbul, Ankara visit Akşener to persuade her to return to alliance

Akşener, İmamoğlu and Yavaş. (Photo: AA)

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Mayors of İstanbul and Ankara, Ekrem İmamoğlu and Mansur Yavaş, have visited the Good (İYİ) Party headquarters to meet Meral Akşener, the party leader, who on Friday left the six-party alliance.

The purpose of the visit was to persuade Akşener to return to the alliance, Halk TV reported, citing party sources.

Speaking to reporters after the visit, İmamoğlu said the meeting was within the knowledge of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the main main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), which the mayors are also members of.

Meanwhile, a meeting of the five other leaders that was scheduled for 2 p.m. local time (GMT+3) was reportedly postponed for an hour to see the outcome of the mayors' meeting with Akşener.

Kılıçdaroğlu and Akşener may meet today following the latest developments, according to reports in the media.

UPDATE - İYİ Party's Akşener returns to Table of Six after mayors' visit

Announcing her party's decision not to support the candidacy of Kılıçdaroğlu, Akşener had called on İmamoğlu and Yavaş to declare their candidacy, which both mayors rejected. The other leaders had agreed on Kılıçdaroğlu's candidacy.

İYİ Party greenlights return to alliance

Meanwhile, an İYİ Party spokesperson said that Akşener may return to the alliance after her latest offer during the meeting with the mayors is accepted.

Speaking to reporters in Ankara, Kürşad Zorlu said Akşener had proposed that İmamoğlu and Yavaş should be "executive vice presidential candidates."

When asked whether Akşener will join the five leaders at today's meeting, he said, "We expect and hope that she will attent." 

However, in a separate statement later, he said his party leader won't be attending the meeting.

Bahadır Erdem, a deputy chair for the İYİ Party, tweeted, "Where were we?" implying that his party may return to the alliance.

Metin Ergun, an MP for the İYİ Party, wrote, "GOOD things will happen."

Akşener's move

On Thursday, the six leaders announced after a meeting that "we have reached a common undertsanging" regarding the parties' joint presidential candidate. A "final statement" was to be made on March 6, according to the statement.

Shortly after the meeting, Akşener convened her party executives, reportedly to discuss a disagreement with the other leaders.

On Friday, she revealed what was discussed during the lealders' meeting, saying that five leaders other than her agreed on Kılıçdaroğlu's candidacy.

Explaining her party's position, she said either İmamoğlu or Yavaş should have been the opposition' candidate, given that they were the most popular possible oppotision candidates according to opinion polls.

She then addressed the two mayors, saying that "our nation is caling you for duty," which has been rejected by both of them. In the 2019 local elections, İmamoğlu and Yavaş ended the 25-year spell of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its predecessors in İstanbul and Ankara, respectively.

Before the two mayor's statement, Kılıçdaroğlu briefly spoken to reporters outside of the parliament, saying "Don't worry. Everything will fall into place. We stay at the course."

A few hours later, he released a video on his Twitter account, where he said, "I'll continue to unit everyone."

The İYİ Party is the second-largest party in the alliance. Its officials have long said that the opposition should nominate "a candidate who can win," implicitly opposing Kılıçdaroğlu's candidacy.

Akşener's move broke the six-party alliance months into the crucial elections, which has been widely anticipated as the toughest challenge for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his two-decade rule.

While the presidential and parliamentary elections are formally scheduled for June 18, Erdoğan has been expressing his intentions to bring the polls forward to May 14.

(AÖ/VK)