Illustration of a ballot box with a person casting a vote, with the Turkish flag in the background. Photo: Twitter/@eevriviade.
The Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) of Türkiye announced that four candidates will be eligible to participate in the May 14 presidential election.
The collection of signatures of presidential candidates proposed by non-parliamentary parties closed on March 27. Only two politicians (Muharrem İnce and Sinan Ogan) were able to collect the required 100,000 signatures required to be a candidate for parties that do not have parliamentary representation. İnce received 114,657 voter signatures, while Sinan Oğan received 111,502.
MP Kemal Kilicdaroglu and incumbent President Erdoğan were not required to collect signatures to participate in the elections.
Therefore, four candidates have been allowed in the upcoming presidential election, “Kemal Kilicdaroglu (opposition National Alliance coalition), Muharrem İnce (Fatherland Party), Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (ruling People’s Alliance), and Sinan Ogan (far-right ATA Alliance),” announced YSK Chairman Ahmet Yener on Monday, March 27.
The final list of candidates was announced on Friday, March 31, and the official election campaign started on the same day.
Türkiye’s presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on May 14, and Kilicdaroglu is expected to be Erdogan’s main opponent. Following the February earthquake 6, Erdoğan’s government was strongly criticized for its failure to adequately respond to the crisis. As a result, his chances at reelection have slimmed, according to the most recent opinion polls.
(Telesur English) with editing and content by Orinoco Tribune
