Kilicdaroglu to adopt security-focused campaign for second round

Opposition’s joint candidate in Turkey Kemal Kilicdaroglu is preparing to increase his nationalistic tone as part of his strategy for the second round of elections scheduled for May 28, Turkish media reported on Wednesday.

According to reports from Cumhuriyet and Sozcü newspapers, his strategy will focus on targeting nationalist voters and countering the narrative that the CHP is collaborating with the outlawed PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party).

Cumhuriyet said that Kilicdaroglu will adopt a more assertive tone, with his CHP to engage in grassroots campaigning to refute this claim and highlight examples such as Huda-Par (Free Cause Party) members, which gained seats in the parliament through AKP's (Justice and Development Party) lists, now plan to refuse to take the parliamentary oath.

To further solidify his strategy, Kilicdaroglu held discussions with his advisors, as well as with Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Mayor of Istanbul, and Mansur Yavaş, the Mayor of Ankara, at the CHP Headquarters. Additionally, Kilicdaroglu is reportedly planning to meet with nationalist Sinan Ogan, the presidential candidate of the ATA Alliance, who secured more than5% of the votes in the first round of the presidential elections.

Columnist Ismail Saymaz from Sozcu newspaper also wrote that the policy to be implemented by Kemal Kilicdaroglu will be based on "security" issues.

"Kilicdaroglu is rolling up his sleeves from today for May 28. He plans to reverse the campaign that associates CHP with terrorism and aims to win the votes of nationalist voters. While implementing this plan, he needs to avoid alienating HDP members." Saymaz said.