Erdogan confident of winning election

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed his confidence about winning the presidential election in May. In a wide-ranging speech, the president said that the seventeen ministers in his government will all stand as candidates for parliament again.

As the election campaigns gets into full swing, the Labour and Freedom Alliance decided yesterday not to nominate a presidential candidate. This is an implicit declaration of support for the opposition candidate from the Nation Alliance, the leader of the Republican People’s Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

The Labour and Freedom Alliance includes the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), the Workers’ Party of Turkiye (TİP), the Labour Party (EMEP), the Labourist [sic] Movement Party (EHP), the Social Freedom Party (TÖP) and the Federation of Socialist Assemblies (SMF).

“We will fulfil our historical responsibility towards one-man rule in the presidential election,” said Pervin Buldan, co-chair of the HDP, on behalf of the coalition.

OPINION: What is at stake in Turkiye’s upcoming election?