İYİ Party's Akşener returns to Table of Six after mayors' visit

Akşener's decision comes after mayors of İstanbul and Ankara visited her to persuade her to return to the six-party alliance.

İstanbul

İYİ Party's Akşener returns to Table of Six after mayors' visit

Felicity Party leader Karamollaoğlu welcomes Akşener at his party's headquarters. (Photo: AA)

Good (İYİ) Party leader has decided to attend the opposition leaders' meeting today (March 6), a party spokesperson has announced.

"Right now, our chairperson has decided to attend the meeting that will take place at the Felicity (Saadet) Party headquarters," Kürşat Zorlu told reporters ahead of the meeting of what is known as the "Table of Six."

Meral Akşener, leader of the party, attended the meeting that started at around 4 p.m. local time (GMT+3).

UPDATE - CHP's Kılıçdaroğlu named opposition candidate as Table of Six reunites

Hundreds of people gathered outside of the Saadet's headquarters in support of the opposition leaders.

Saadet Partisi önündeki kalabalık her geçen dakika artıyor.

Birlikte BAŞARACAĞIZ pic.twitter.com/ou7VHo9GaF
— Deniz Demir (@demirdenizchp) March 6, 2023

The decision came after a meeting between Akşener, the mayors of İstanbul and Ankara, and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), said Zorlu.

Earlier in the day, the two mayors visited Akşener at her party headquarters, apparently in a bid to persuade her to return to the alliance.

What happened?

Akşener on Friday announced that her party, the second-largest in the bloc of six parties, would withdraw from the alliance over a disagreement regarding a joint presidential candidate.

Five parties in the alliance known as the "Table of Six" backed Kılıçdaroğlu, whereas the İYİ Party proposed that İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu or Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş should be the candidate.

Akşener publicly called on the mayors to declare their candidacy, which they rejected and announced support for their party leader Kılıçdaroğlu.

Akşener's move broke the six-party alliance months into the crucial elections, which has been widely anticipated as the toughest challenge for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan during his two-decade rule.

While the presidential and parliamentary elections are formally scheduled for June 18, Erdoğan has been expressing his intentions to bring the polls forward to May 14.

The Table of Six

The six-party bloc comprises the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the İYİ (Good) Party, the Democracy and Progress (DEVA) Party, the Gelecek (Future) Party, the Saadet (Felicity) Party and the Democratic Party (DP).

Leaders of the parties had their first round table meeting on February 22, 2022, to address the country's problems and discuss solutions.

On February 28, they signed a memorandum of understanding to switch to what they called an "enforced parliamentary system" after the elections. Such a change would require the opposition bloc to have a three-fifth majority in the parliament, which is not likely according to election polls.

The DEVA Party, led by former deputy PM Ali Babacan, and the Gelecek Party, led by former PM Ahmet Davutoğlu, are the two splinter movements from the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The Saadet Party also shares the same Islamic roots with the AKP, which has been in power for over 20 years.

İYİ Party is a splinter movement from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), the allies of the ruling party.

The four parties other than the CHP and the İYİ Party have no significant popular support, with their voting rates below 3 percent, according to most election polls. However, their support may prove crucial for the opposition ahead of what is anticipated to be a close race.

(VK)