Kılıçdaroğlu seeks Oğan’s support for runoff election

ANKARA

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the joint candidate of the Nation Alliance, has met Victory Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ to discuss the presidential candidate Sinan Oğan’s support for the presidential runoff.

Özdağ is leading the nationalist Ata Alliance, whose presidential candidate Sinan Oğan received 5.2 percent of votes in the first presidential race on May 14. Kılıçdaroğlu will run against incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the second round on May 28.

“I have informed Mr. Özdağ about the views of the Nation Alliance’s leaders about joint policies document and constitutional changes. Türkiye needs democracy and solidarity. Türkiye needs to overcome its problems,” Kılıçdaroğlu said at a joint press conference with Özdağ in the latter’s headquarters.

Özdağ, for his part, thanked Kılıçdaroğlu for his visit. “We had some questions. They provided detailed answers. In the frame of these answers, we will make our evaluations in our relevant bodies as well as with Mr. Oğan,” he stated.

“We will inform the people of Türkiye in a short period of time,” he added.

Oğan, in an earlier statement, listed his conditions to support the presidential contender. These conditions include “uninterrupted struggle against all sorts of terror organizations, including the PKK, FETO and Hezbollah; sending the refugees in a certain timetable; keeping the [Peoples’ Democratic Party] HDP and [Free Cause Party] HÜDA PAR out of the government; and guaranteeing that the first four articles and Article 66 of the constitution will never be amended.”

Oğan gained the votes of 2.8 million Turks in the first round. As the difference between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu is around 2.6 million votes to the advantage of the former, Oğan’s potential support to the latter is seen as crucially important.