Good Party deputy expresses discontent with Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy

Good Party deputy Yavuz Agıralioglu, one of the heavyweights of the party's far- right wing, expressed dissatisfaction with CHP (Republican People’s Party) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu's candidacy and made sharp remarks at a press conference in the Turkish National Assembly.

Amid rumors that he would resign from his party, Agiralioglu criticized the party's decision to endorse Kilicdaroglu as its candidate, claiming it was a mandate.

"The efforts of the Good Party have been in vain, and no one has apologized to the Good Party. I oppose Kilicdaroglu's candidacy being forced on us," Agıralioglu said during his press conference, which was broadcast live by the pro-government media, which interpreted Agiralioglu's remarks as another sign of the dissolution of the opposition’s Nation Alliance.

Previously, Agıralioglu remained silent when asked by journalists about rumors that he would resign and join the President Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Sevilay Yilman, a columnist for Haberturk, claimed that Agıralioglu wants to become chairman of the Grand Unity Party (BBP), a Turkish ultranationalist party that supports Erdogan in the elections.

Yilman said, "In fact, it's not a surprising announcement. He said, 'I'll speak when the time comes,' and apparently the time is now. He tells his audience, 'I'm here, don't worry, I'll be in charge of something after the election. I've heard that he wants to become the chairman of the Great Unity Party.' So he has invested in himself."

The audience Yilman was speaking about is a nationalist base upset that the pro-Kurdish HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party) decided not to field a presidential candidate and tacitly supported Kilicdaroglu.

Agıralioglu said, "We said we wouldn't be in an equation that included terrorism. I said it repeatedly. We do not listen to separatists."