Felicity Party head to meet opposition leaders, former President Gül: Report

ANKARA

Felicity Party (SP) leader Temel Karamollaoğlu is set to meet with main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener this week in the capital Ankara before visiting Abdullah Gül, who served as president of Turkey from 2007 to 2014, in Istanbul.

Karamollaoğlu is scheduled to meet Kılıçdaroğlu on April 23 and Akşener on April 24, daily Cumhuriyet reported on April 22.

The meetings with the opposition leaders were already planned beforehand, as Karamollaoğlu reportedly wanted to congratulate them on the “successful completion” of their parties’ congresses.

But with the announcement of early elections on June 24, Karamollaoğlu is also expected to bring up the issues of potential alliances and election safety during his meetings with Kılıçdaroğlu and Akşener.

Karamollaoğlu is also scheduled to meet with Free Cause Party (Hüda-Par) chair Zekeriya Yapıcıoğlu on April 23, the daily said.

The SP leader will later embark on a trip to Istanbul, where he will meet Gül. The two have reportedly been trying to finalize the date of their meeting.

On April 21, Karamollaoğlu gathered his party’s general executive board members for a meeting in the capital Ankara. The members discussed the roadmap the party would follow during the election campaign process. He reportedly instructed them to determine the names of the candidates to be nominated for the parliamentary elections.

Meanwhile, the SP also speeded up surveying works. Respondents of the surveys were reportedly asked, “Which party the SP should form an alliance with” and “Which alliance appealed to them most.” They were also asked about their opinions on some suggested names for the presidential elections, including Gül.