Kemal Kilicdaroglu emerges as the main candidate to take on Erdogan after a weekend of political drama
On Monday Turkey’s six-party opposition threw their support behind Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu as the main challenger to President Erdogan in landmark elections expected on May 14. This decision came after an intense few days that saw Meral Aksener - the leader of the second largest party in the coalition - splinter the opposition after publicly opposing Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy. The opposition bloc was reunited Monday after a last minute deal. Expert Alan Makovsky joins Thanos Davelis to break down whether Kilicdaroglu can emerge from Erdogan's shadow, and look at what the political drama of this weekend means for the opposition.
Alan Makovsky is a senior fellow for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress, and has worked on Turkey and the region in several capacities, including as a senior staff member on the Committee on Foreign Affairs in the House of Representatives and at the State Department.
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