The head of the Kemalist CHP (Republican People’s Party) Kemal Kilicdaroglu is definitively Erdogan’s opponent in the Turkish elections. Kilicdaroglu will be a joint candidate of the six opposition parties, as a compromise was found with the president of the Good Party Meral Aksener.

Speaking flanked by the other five opposition party leaders, Happiness Party leader Temel Karamolaoglu said the parties had agreed to nominate the Republican People’s Party leader as a joint candidate.

The joint statement reflects the compromise reached between the CHP and the Good Party regarding the candidacy of Kilicdaroglu. The compromise was reached after heated discussions among the leaders of the six parties over the weekend in an attempt to keep the opposition alliance intact due to the initial refusal of Aksener to accept Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy.

According to the compromise, the mayors of Ankara Mansur Yava and Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu will be among Kilicdaroglu’s vice presidentsif the alliance wins the presidential election in May.

Thousands of opposition supporters gathered outside the headquarters of the Happiness Party in Ankara, where the six leaders met, to applaud the joint announcement.

The pro-Kurdish HDP party, which views Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy positively, announced that it might support him and not field its own candidate in the presidential election, and said it was open to talks with the Alliance.