CHP leader says he will agree to run for president if Nation Alliance wants

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu on Aug. 2 reiterated that the Nation Alliance would determine the presidential candidate through democratic methods, stating that he will agree to run for the president if his allies want him to.

He will accept the duty because this is an honorable duty which is far beyond being the presidency as the new president will be the person who will bring real democracy to the country, Kılıçdaroğlu told daily Sözcü.

The CHP leader said he was confident that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan would be running for the next elections.

“The candidate of the People’s Alliance is clear; Erdoğan. All [the ruling Justice and Development Party] AKP and [Nationalist Movement Party] MHP deputies will follow him unconditionally, as they have no power to use their own minds and question events. They owe their parliamentary seats to Erdoğan,” he stated.

“We, on the other hand, have democracy, so if we are going to choose a presidential candidate, we must first come together as an alliance and talk,” he added.

He underlined that whether there would be a single candidate of an Alliance or whether each party would nominate a candidate separately was something about the culture of democracy.

“The definition of the presidency that I have made is a definition of a president that the society longs for. This president himself will set an example to society with his family and lifestyle. Citizens want a president as I have described,” he said.

The new president will also initially have extraordinary powers, and if he insists to keep all the powers and rejects returning to the parliamentary system, that will abolish all the commitments, the CHP leader stated.

“We will bring the strengthened parliamentary system, and it will transfer a significant part of its powers back to the parliament. Therefore, the president to be elected should have self-control and keep his word,” he said.

The CHP leader expressed concern about possible provocations during the election campaign for upcoming polls.

Kılıçdaroğlu warned against “developments that provoke people, that want to take people to the streets.”

“They want to create an atmosphere of conflict,” he said, stressing that people must stay calm.