The Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) group in Parliament decided on the nomination of the President and the Chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as presidential candidate in the elections.
The MHP's group convened yesterday in a closed-door meeting chaired by the group Deputy Chairman Erkan Akçay and officially took the decision to nominate Erdoğan as the candidate in the upcoming elections scheduled to be held on June 24. The MHP is expected to make its application to the Supreme Election Council (YSK) on Friday.
The AK Party and MHP previously decided to form a political alliance named, the People's Alliance, for the presidential elections after MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli announced that his party will not name a candidate for the 2019 presidential elections and will support the re-election of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Great Union Party (BBP) also later announced that it would join the People's Alliance, and support Erdoğan as their joint candidate.
Following the ratification of a 26-article bill prepared by the AK Party and MHP, which allowed parties to form alliances in the elections, other political parties also attempted to form alliances that would face the People's Alliance.
Meanwhile, ahead of the upcoming elections the MHP gave instructions to the province and district organizations with an aim of highlighting the strategies to be followed during the run-up to the elections.
According to the instructions, the MHP chairman called on party authorities to inform the public about the content of the new system. Turkey will be ruled with a presidential government system with the presidential elections in June.On April 16, 2017, Turkey held a referendum on a constitutional reform in which the majority of voters pronounced themselves in favor of an 18-article bill switching a parliamentary system into a presidential one. The ruling AK Party and the MHP established a committee to work on the changes necessary to be made in order to adjust to the new system.
Bahçeli also warned party authorities against the possible provocations and statements that might undermine the People's Alliance. The MHP chair highlighted that despite the different paths of the parties in politics, they have united to reach a common target.
As the political parties will ramp up efforts for their preparations for the elections, Bahçeli stressed that during this significant period the party officials need to pay attention to using a rhetoric that is in line with that of the party.