Noticias

The appointment of Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu as the joint presidential candidate of the two main opposition parties, has sparked a debate within the Republican People’s Party (CHP), and İhsanoğlu is not thought to represent the party’s authentic worldview. 

Around 15 CHP lawmakers came together yesterday under the leadership of former chairman Deniz Baykal to evaluate the appointment and to mull over how they would react to the nomination of İhsanoğlu, a former head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). 

The two main opposition parties are planning to establish a joint election campaign center for an efficient bid by their joint candidate, Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, in a rare instance of cooperation between Turkish political parties. 

“We will finalize our road map in four or five days. Our initial decision is that each party will carry out its own work for İhsanoğlu’s bid,” Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), told daily Hürriyet on June 17. 

The announcement of Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, the former head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as the joint opposition presidential candidate has drawn mixed reactions from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), while a senior Justice and Development Party (AKP) lawmaker heralded “the end of the opposition."

El antiguo direector general de la Organización de la Conferencia Islámica (OCI) Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu ha sido presentado este lunes como candidato conjunto a la Presidencia turca de las formaciones opositoras Partido Republicano del Pueblo (CHP) y Partido Movimiento Nacional (MHP), según ha informado el periódico turco 'Hurriyet'.

Two pro-Kurdish parties have indicated that they would consider supporting the presidential candidate of the main opposition party in the second round of polls if this nominee is someone who can provide assurances on democracy, freedom and the Kurdish question.

Some 750 youths under the age of 18 joined the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party(PKK) forces in one year, according to a fresh report by a police agency. 

The report said the PKK’s high school and youth organizations, the urban arm and educational support branch, also known as EDEV, were used in accelerating the process of recruiting youths and taking them to the mountains for training.

A senior official from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has said President Abdullah Gül should become the next prime minister if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is elected president.
 
“If Erdoğan runs for the presidency and is elected president, it is my wish to see Gül return to the party, become its general chairman and be elected prime minister in the 2015 elections,” said AK Party Deputy Chairman Mehmet Ali Şahin during a meeting held in the Safranbolu district of Karabük.
 

With the procedure for the establishment of a parliamentary commission to investigate four former ministers already delayed due to the failure of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) to nominate its members, the Parliamentary Speaker’s Office has also vetoed a majority of opposition nominees.

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli accused both the government and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) of “incompetence” against the rising activity of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), suggesting that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was going soft as he needs the support of the PKK and its jailed leader for his presidential ambitions.