FILE PHOTO: Kemal Kilicdaroglu, presidential candidate of main opposition alliance, holds an election rally in Izmir
Reuters: Turkey's Kilicdaroglu exits Erdogan's shadow in election race
ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Stuck in Tayyip Erdogan's shadow throughout his career, opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu believes his time has come to set Turkey on a new path and roll back much of the legacy of the man who has dominated politics for two decades.
An alliance of six opposition parties named the earnest and sometimes feisty former civil servant as its candidate to take on Erdogan in the May 14 elections, which are seen as perhaps the most consequential in the country's modern history.
Opinion polls generally show Kilicdaroglu, 74, holding an edge, and possibly winning in a second round vote, after an inclusive campaign promising solutions to a cost-of-living crisis that eroded the president's popularity in recent years.
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Update: Turkey’s upcoming elections could unseat Erdogan. Here’s everything you need to know (CNN)
WNU Editor: My money is still on Erdogan being re-elected. But my gut tells me that it is going to be close.
Update #2: I agree with this analysis .... Turkey set to keep strong Russia ties whoever wins election (Reuters).
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His election fuelled party hopes of a new start, but support for the CHP has since failed to surpass about 25%. Erdogan's AK party polled 43% in the last parliamentary elections of 2018.
Still, some view Kilicdaroglu as having quietly reformed the party and sidelined hardcore "Kemalists" espousing a rigid version of the ideas of Ataturk, while promoting members seen as more closely aligned with European social democratic values.
Critics say he has failed to bring flexibility to a static CHP and, in the end, imposed himself as presidential candidate over others who polled better head-to-head against Erdogan.
Sounds shaky as hell. Like one of those Israeli coalition govts where none of the members have an intention of governing alongside their running mates. They simply band together to topple the status quo in the hopes that their position improves once the dust has settled. Those coalitions often don't even make it to election day.
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