During the last several months, the leaders of the Turkish opposition parties were engaged in arduous negotiations over the distribution of positions in the government which they imagined they would run after elections. Their alliance nearly collapsed in February over a dispute over the candidate who was supposed to defeat Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and rule the country. After May 28, the dream of power turned into a nightmare. It became clear that Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu would remain in Erdoğan’s shadow for another five years.
At the level of the six-party alliance, the future of the unity of this alliance appears in doubt. The goal to oppose Erdoğan which united the various opposition parties will remain. But the opposition for the sake of opposition does not produce a clear political project which could lead it to power. It became clear in the recent elections that this partnership did not change the rules of the game with Erdoğan.
Opposition parties do not have the luxury of resisting the idea of a change. Because President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, whose recent electoral victory has boosted his surplus of confidence, seems determined to use this victory to regain control over the major municipalities that the ruling AK Party lost to the opposition in the 2019 elections. It is unlikely that the opposition will be able to retain major municipalities such as Istanbul and Ankara in the upcoming local elections if it does not take seriously the need for a change in leadership and performance.
[by Mahmoud Allouch in Arabic Post]
Compiled and translated by Faizul Haque