The Turkish opposition has decided on a candidate for the presidency in the elections in May this year. It will be Kemal Kilidaroglu, writes POLITICO.

Difficult negotiations continued for several weeks. At a certain point, the opposition alliance, consisting of parties from the entire political spectrum from the left to the right, was close to collapse. However, on Monday, the so-called Table Six coalition finally formally elected Kilicdaroglu as their common candidate..

The main opposition leader made a statement after a meeting of representatives of the six parties in Ankara, saying that the people's coalition will "

The 12-point coalition agreement, which was published immediately after the speech, also noted that the country's transition to a parliamentary system would be completed as soon as possible..

Kilichdaroglu, who has led the centre-left Republican People's Party (CHP) for more than a decade, is a modest 74-year-old former welfare officer..

Nicknamed the "

While analysts doubt his ability to pose a real threat to Erdogan, despite Erdogan being seen as vulnerable today than ever due to double-digit inflation and the authorities' poor response to devastating earthquakes that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.

Earlier, the leader of one of the key members of the alliance for the right-wing Good Party (IYI), Meral Aksener, said she would leave the coalition due to disagreements over the joint choice of a presidential candidate.. Aksener proposed to nominate Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavash or Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu instead of Kilicdaroglu.

She eventually rejoined the alliance on Monday following a proposal to put both mayors on the list of vice presidents..