Three Turkish opposition parties have addressed a demand to Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK) to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the candidates list, claiming his running for a third term was unconstitutional, Haberturk reported Tuesday
ISTANBUL (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 28th March, 2023) Three Turkish opposition parties have addressed a demand to Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK) to remove President Recep Tayyip Erdogan from the candidates list, claiming his running for a third term was unconstitutional, Haberturk reported Tuesday.
The official objection has been submitted by the Good Party (IYI), the Democracy and Progress (DEVA) and the Homeland (Memleket) parties. The parties reportedly demand Erdogan's exclusion from the official candidates' list announced on Monday in accordance with Turkey's Constitution, which allows a president to serve for two terms only while Erdogan is currently running for a third one.
The objection to this demand was argued by the spokesman for the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, Omer Celik.
"There are no obstacles for Erdogan's nomination for the presidency. We (AK Party) declared him our candidate several months ago and the candidacy application was filed according to all the rules," Celik said, as quoted by the Haberturk daily newspaper.
The legitimacy of Erdogan's candidacy has been challenged by the opposition parties since the beginning of the year. At the time, Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag contradicted their claims, saying that Erdogan's standing for election was not in conflict with the law. He stated that, in accordance with the transition to the presidential system, Erdogan's presidential term that started in 2018 was his first after the 2017 referendum, therefore the Constitution enabled him to run for president in 2023.
Presidential and parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in Turkey on May 14. The incumbent president's main opponent is Kemal Kilicdaroglu supported by the National Alliance. The list of candidates also includes Muharrem Ince and Sinan Ogan, both running as independent candidates.
Opinion polls currently do not show a clear winner, however, the elections are expected to be challenging for the ruling party and Erdogan due to the February earthquakes, which killed at least 50,000 people and caused significant material damage. The opposition blames Erdogan for the corruption in the construction industry that led to new buildings collapsing in the quake-hit areas and the slow response to the natural disaster.
