By Athena Papakosta

The leader of the People’s Republican Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu he is finally the “chosen one” of the six-party opposition “Alliance of the Nation” which first had to reach the brink of splitting in order to end up with the generally accepted opponent of the current Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in view of the parliamentary and presidential elections, which are expected to be held on May 14 in the country.

The presidents of the “six” met for more than five hours in the offices of the headquarters of the Happiness party (Saadet) in Ankara.

Just 24 hours before, the so-called “Good Party” (IYI) had left Meral Aksener’s Alliance as it disagreed with Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy.

Aksener insisted that the most suitable candidates are either the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, or the mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas. Finally, one of her meetings with the two mayors proved to be enough for Aksener to return to the negotiating table and the five became six again.

The Turkish opposition has been in coalition for a year and has been working together to oust Erdogan, who has been in power for the past 20 years in Turkey. It consists of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Good Party (IYI), the Party of Bliss (Saadet), the Democratic Party (DP), the Party of Democracy and Progress (DEVA) and the Party of the Future (Gelecek).

After weeks of discussions and internal fermentation all parties – Kemalists, nationalists and others – managed to agree on the person of Kemal Kilicdaroglu for the position of Erdoğan’s opponent.

Kilicdaroglu himself, right after his name was announced, said: “Our table is a table of peace. Our sole purpose is to bring the country back to the days of prosperity, peace and joy. Together we will restore the authority of morality and justice. We, the Alliance of the Nation, will lead Turkey on the basis of cooperation and reconciliation.”

The country has not yet collected its debris and the accumulated – for some time – internal problems, the earthquakes managed to deliver the final blow. Candidate Kilicdaroglu’s announcement coincided with the one-month anniversary of the twin deadly earthquakes of magnitude 7.8 and 7.7. For many, not only the buildings collapsed like paper towers but also Erdoğanism. However, the Turkish president remains a difficult (and unpredictable) opponent.

Kilicdaroglu is 74 years old and his age raises concerns. He may have led the country’s second largest party since 2010 but, for 13 years, he has failed to beat Recep Tayyip Erdogan. “Why should he succeed now?”, one might ask.

On his side, Kilicdaroglu will have – apart from the rest of the opposition parties – Imamoglu and Yavas who, in the event of Erdoğan’s defeat at the polls, will now be vice-presidents of the new Turkish government.

The 52-year-old mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, and the 67-year-old mayor of Ankara, Mansur Yavas, were the favorites of the race as, according to the polls, they could win – and even by a margin – Erdogan. But, as far as Imamoglu’s candidacy is concerned, things were not simple at all since he himself was confronted with the Justice and a possible candidacy of his could even a breath before the elections be in the air or even stopped.

The pro-Kurdish People’s Democracy party (HDP) is expected to prove to be a regulator on the way to the elections, which views Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy with a favorable eye. In fact, he announced that he might support him without “downloading” his own candidate, declaring that he is also open to talks with the “Alliance of Six”.

In the event that the united opposition agreed on fundamental principles with the HDP and the pro-Kurdish party officially supported the candidacy of the leader of the Republican People’s Party, then things would become even more difficult for the Turkish president.

However, there are at least 10 weeks left until the double polls on May 14, and for the time being the official announcements by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to hold the elections on Friday, March 10 precede.