Turkish opposition remains own worst enemy
Despite the claims of nationalist candidate Meral Aksener, the Turkish opposition is distressingly split and neither side has succeeded in drawing votes away from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party.
After an unprecedented show of unity, is Turkey’s opposition reverting to its old ways? The question was raised when Meral Aksener, the presidential candidate for the right-wing Iyi (Good) Party dug her claws into Muharrem Ince, who is running on the ticket of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
In a May 28 interview with the independent online newspaper Duvar, Aksener claimed that “nearly all the polling companies indicate that if Mr. Ince [faces President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan in a second round of balloting, Erdogan will win by a wide margin. But if I do, Erdogan will lose.”
