İstanbul, Ankara mayors reject Akşener's call for candidacy

İmamoğlu, Kılıçdaroğlu and Yavaş.

Mayors of Ankara and İstanbul have announced support for their party leader amid a crisis in the opposition alliance over presidential candidacy.

Earlier in the day, Meral Akşener, leader of the Good (İYİ) Party, announced that her party wouldn't back Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, head of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), in the presidential elections.

Instead, one of the two mayors, both of whom are members of the CHP, should run for president, she said, and called on them to declare their candidacy.

The move marks the split of the six-party alliance, known as the "Table of Six" in reference to the six leaders' round table meetings that have been going on for a year now.

The mayors' response came hours later on Twitter, with both announcing support for the leader of their party.

"In the statements we have made until today, we have stated that we will not act outside the will of our Chairperson Mr. Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu," wrote Mansur Yavaş, the mayor of Ankara. "So, we are on the same track. We hope the Nation Alliance will continue its path with all its stakeholders."

Minutes later, İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu wrote, "As a son of CHP and as the Mayor of the Nation Alliance, in the unity that our nation desires, Mr Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who represents our will at the alliance table, will show our people that they are not helpless, hopeless and alone and the Nation Alliance will grow without lessening."

The leaders' meeting and Akşener's move

A day before, 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, Merak Akşener convened her party executives, reportedly to discuss a disagreement with the other leaders.

Today, 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.

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.

End of the Table of Six

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.

The presidential and parliamentary elections are formally scheduled for June 18. However, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been expressing his intentions to bring the elections forward to May 14.

(VK)