Turkey’s opposition will announce its presidential candidate in the next few months

According to its head, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Turkey’s biggest opposition party, would announce its presidential candidate for the next election in the upcoming months. He described this as an attempt to thwart a judicial onslaught on his party.

Following recent detentions and investigations into CHP-run towns, the opposition has frequently asked for an early vote in the 2028 presidential and parliamentary elections.

“Today,… by completing all the preparations… in February, March, and April, we are starting today to say that we are ready to (counter) this evil,” Ozgur Ozel hinted about the probes in a speech to CHP lawmakers.

In an internal ballot, some 1.6 million CHP members will select the party’s presidential candidate, he continued.

A prosecutor in Istanbul opened a new court case against CHP member and city mayor Ekrem Imamoglu on Monday for allegedly attempting to sway the courts after he objected to legal investigations into opposition-run governments.

Considered a strong contender to succeed Tayyip Erdogan as president, Imamoglu charged that Erdogan’s administration was using the court as a political instrument to exert pressure on the opposition.

According to Ozel, the Imamoglu investigations demonstrated how Erdogan’s AK Party feared him.

Declaring the court independent, the administration refutes claims of political meddling in the cases.

With the exception of an early election called by parliament, Erdogan, who was re-elected last year, is in the final term as president allowed by the constitution. Prior to becoming president, he served as prime minister for more than 21 years.

The consent of 360 members of the 600-seat parliament is required for an early election. The AKP and its supporters hold 321 seats.

Recently, the AKP spokesman stated that a formula for a new term for Erdogan was “on the party’s agenda,” implying that a constitutional reform will be passed to enable it.

A referendum on a constitutional change might also be held if it had the support of 360 legislators.