“Kilicdaroglu will be announced as presidential candidate on February 13”

A deputy from Turkey’s main opposition CHP (People’s Republican Party said that the party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu will be announced as the presidential candidate of the opposition bloc on February 13, in Turkey’s one of the most consequential votes to be held in May.

During a televised interview on Turkish Tele1 TV, Tanrikulu said the main entity in the bloc, also known as the Nation Alliance was the CHP.

"The leaders and bases of other political parties also have an idea about Kilicdaroglu's candidacy. Unless there is a a great setback. our chairman will be announced as the candidate of the Nation Alliance on February 13."

Turkey's two main opposition parties, the secularist CHP and centre-right nationalist IYI Party, have allied themselves with four smaller parties under a platform that would seek to dismantle Erdogan's executive presidency in favour of the previous parliamentary system.

Kilicdaroglu earlier announced that the alliance would determine the presidential candidate at the meeting to be held on February 13, but he also kept the possibility of a slight delay saying the announcement could be made at a later date “with a big ceremony.”