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Friday, 4 May, 2018 - 10:45
Muharrem Ince waves to supporters during a Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) meeting on May 4, 2018 in Ankara after being named as its candidate to challenge incumbent President in June 24 elections. ADEM ALTAN / AFP
Turkey's main opposition party Friday named a senior lawmaker known for his fiery and impassioned rhetoric to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in next month's snap elections.
The candidate of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP) in the June 24 poll will be Muharrem Ince, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu announced.
"For 80 million people (Turkey's population)... I will be everyone's president. I will be an unbiased president," Ince promised, accusing Erdogan of undermining democracy.
The candidacy of Ince, a former physics teacher and MP since 2002, was approved at a meeting of CHP MPs where all 110 of its lawmakers voted for him to stand.
Ince, who turned 54 Friday, faces an uphill struggle to convince voters, as he is running against Turkey's most experienced and rhetorically-gifted campaigner in the shape of Erdogan.
Yet Ince's greatest political assets are his rhetorical skills and impassioned speeches which have made him a favorite with the CHP faithful in recent years.
Ince twice -- in 2014 and 2018 -- challenged Kilicdaroglu for the leadership of the CHP but failed to oust the incumbent head.
One of the most spirited speakers from the opposition, Ince has generally been more ready than Kilicdaroglu to adopt a gloves-off approach towards Erdogan, raising the prospect of a fierce political campaign.
In his acceptance speech to the CHP meeting, Ince showed he would have no fear confronting Erdogan, describing him as "a so-called world leader (who) is everyday ranting and raving."
He had famously vowed to sell off Erdogan's gigantic presidential palace opened in 2014 should he be elected.
The June 24 parliamentary and presidential elections will be a landmark in modern Turkish history.
After the vote, a new presidential system agreed in an April 2017 referendum, which the CHP has claimed gives the head of state authoritarian powers, will come into force.
Should Erdogan win, he will receive another five-year mandate which would allow him to press on with a transformation of Turkey that began when he first became prime minister in 2003.
The CHP is due to make an alliance with three other opposition parties -- notably the new Iyi (Good) Party of Meral Aksener -- for the elections.
The former Interior Minister is seen as the most credible challenge to Erdogan. This has lead to speculation the CHP could pull its candidate in the second round of voting and back Aksener.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/art...osition-names-combative-mp-erdogan-challenger
Muharrem Ince waves to supporters during a Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) meeting on May 4, 2018 in Ankara after being named as its candidate to challenge incumbent President in June 24 elections. ADEM ALTAN / AFP
Turkey's main opposition party Friday named a senior lawmaker known for his fiery and impassioned rhetoric to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in next month's snap elections.
The candidate of the secular Republican People's Party (CHP) in the June 24 poll will be Muharrem Ince, CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu announced.
"For 80 million people (Turkey's population)... I will be everyone's president. I will be an unbiased president," Ince promised, accusing Erdogan of undermining democracy.
The candidacy of Ince, a former physics teacher and MP since 2002, was approved at a meeting of CHP MPs where all 110 of its lawmakers voted for him to stand.
Ince, who turned 54 Friday, faces an uphill struggle to convince voters, as he is running against Turkey's most experienced and rhetorically-gifted campaigner in the shape of Erdogan.
Yet Ince's greatest political assets are his rhetorical skills and impassioned speeches which have made him a favorite with the CHP faithful in recent years.
Ince twice -- in 2014 and 2018 -- challenged Kilicdaroglu for the leadership of the CHP but failed to oust the incumbent head.
One of the most spirited speakers from the opposition, Ince has generally been more ready than Kilicdaroglu to adopt a gloves-off approach towards Erdogan, raising the prospect of a fierce political campaign.
In his acceptance speech to the CHP meeting, Ince showed he would have no fear confronting Erdogan, describing him as "a so-called world leader (who) is everyday ranting and raving."
He had famously vowed to sell off Erdogan's gigantic presidential palace opened in 2014 should he be elected.
The June 24 parliamentary and presidential elections will be a landmark in modern Turkish history.
After the vote, a new presidential system agreed in an April 2017 referendum, which the CHP has claimed gives the head of state authoritarian powers, will come into force.
Should Erdogan win, he will receive another five-year mandate which would allow him to press on with a transformation of Turkey that began when he first became prime minister in 2003.
The CHP is due to make an alliance with three other opposition parties -- notably the new Iyi (Good) Party of Meral Aksener -- for the elections.
The former Interior Minister is seen as the most credible challenge to Erdogan. This has lead to speculation the CHP could pull its candidate in the second round of voting and back Aksener.
https://aawsat.com/english/home/art...osition-names-combative-mp-erdogan-challenger
