The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is engaged in talks with the Victory Party (ZP), which endorses Sinan Oğan, a rival of AK Party candidate, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the May 28 runoff.
Numan Kurtulmuş, deputy chairperson of the AK Party paid a rare visit to the party’s headquarters in the capital Ankara on Monday, hours before Oğan was scheduled to hold a much-anticipated news conference. Oğan, nominated by ZP, part of the ATA Alliance, is expected to declare his endorsement for Erdoğan or his main rival Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Oğan surprised the nation where the AK Party and CHP dominate politics by garnering more than 5% of the vote, emerging as a kingmaker for the runoff between Erdoğan and Kılıçdaroğlu.
Speaking at a joint news conference with Özdağ, Kurtulmuş said it was “a fruitful meeting where they discussed the problems Türkiye faced.” “We hope the Victory Party will endorse our president,” he said. Kurtulmuş said their talks also focused on the issue of Syrian refugees. ZP is the fervent proponent of the forced return of millions of refugees, claiming they affect the country’s demographics and economy. Kurtulmuş noted that 550,000 Syrians already returned to their country and acknowledged “certain differences” between AK Party and ZP on the issue. “The refugee issue is important but we discussed its causes. These people fled from bombardment. We are working on their return to their country and the normalization of circumstances in Syria. We are working on the construction of residences in Syria that will help the return of 1 million Syrians,” Kurtulmuş said.
For his part, Özdağ said they discussed Türkiye’s security at the meeting and presented their solutions to resolve the refugee issue. “We have indeed different opinions. Our policy is the forcible return (of refugees),” Özdağ bluntly said.
