- By Robert Greenall
- BBC News
6 March 2023 at 19:30 GMT
Updated 2 hours ago
picture description,
Mr. Kilicdaroglu is known in the Turkish media as “Gandhi Kemal” because of his resemblance to the Indian civil rights activist
Turkey’s often-divided opposition parties have joined forces to select a single candidate to face President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May’s elections.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu leads the main secular opposition party, the centre-left Republican People’s Party (CHP).
Polls suggest a close race in a country deeply polarized after two decades of Mr Erdogan’s authoritarian rule.
A huge crowd of supporters cheered Mr Kilicdaroglu, a former civil servant, as he was chosen by a six-party opposition coalition.
Known as “Gandhi Kemal” or “Gandhi of Turkey” because of his resemblance to Indian civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi, the quiet 74-year-old offers a radically different vision in content and style to that of the fiery, charismatic Mr Erdogan.
However, some of Mr Kilicdaroglu’s allies fear he lacks traction.
He promised his supporters to rule Turkey by consensus and consultation.
“Our table is the table of peace,” he said, quoted by the Portal news agency. “Our only goal is to lead the country into days of prosperity, peace and joy.”
He also said he would return the country to a parliamentary system – Mr Erdogan oversaw the transition to a presidential system in 2018 and gained sweeping powers.
Founded by the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the CHP is the country’s oldest political party, although it has not been in power centrally since the 1990s.
However, Mr Kilicdaroglu has broadened his appeal to include minority groups and forged alliances with right-wing parties.
He has also shown willingness to challenge Mr Erdogan, a leader who has become increasingly intolerant of criticism.
In February’s earthquake that killed more than 45,000 people in southeastern Turkey, Mr Kilicdaroglu cited attacks on the government, which he said had allowed corruption and poor building standards.