Six parties stand united against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has been in power for around 20 years. First as prime minister since 2003, then as president from 2014.
Erdogan’s era has been characterized by more Islamic elements and curtailed democratic rights. After the failed coup attempt in 2016, he began to go further and further.
Common candidate
Analysts estimate that 90 percent of the country’s media today is controlled by the government or its allies in business.
Thousands of opposition activists, many of them Kurdish, are in prison after being accused of terrorist-related activities.
On February 13, the opposition bloc will present a joint candidate in the presidential election. A program of 2,300 points has set its sights on rolling back many of the means of power that Erdogan’s policies have depleted from parliament and ministries in recent years.
“Stop” for decree power
According to the electoral program, a president will only be allowed to sit for seven years and the prime minister will have more power. The parliamentary system is to be strengthened, it says: “We will put an end to the president’s power to rule by decree.”
When the election program was presented at a ceremony on Monday, the biggest applause came after the promise to crack down on corruption and restore the strength of the country’s traditional institutions such as the state media.
The opposition wants the state television channel TRT and the Anadolu news agency to establish themselves according to principles of independence and impartiality. Neither of the two companies wanted to quickly comment on the outcome.