Is Kilicdaroglu Accepting the Defeat?

Ekrem Imamoglu, the mayor of Istanbul, is expected to play a bigger part in developing Kilicdaroglu’s new electoral plan, according to sources.

After losing to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the first round, the opposition candidate for president of Turkey, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, has reorganized his campaign staff.

According to certain reports on Tuesday, Kilicdaroglu’s new campaign plan would be more heavily influenced by Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu.

Erdogan won the presidential election with 49.5% of the vote, much more than Kilicdaroglu’s vote total of 44.9%, according to Turkey’s electoral authorities.

On May 28, a runoff election will take place.

Following the voting, Onursal Adiguzel, the deputy chairman of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), who oversaw the election and propaganda staff in charge of keeping track of the vote, was fired by Kilicdaroglu.

According to reports, on election night, there was party-wide uncertainty, which enraged Kilicdaroglu.

Additionally, Kilicdaroglu decided not to extend his agreement with the firm run by Ali Kiremitcioglu and Akan Abdulla, which was in charge of managing his election campaign.

“The party’s agreement with the business came to an end. We chose not to prolong it because we couldn’t win in the first round, a source informed.

Another unexpected turn came later that day when Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a prominent politician with party power, took over as Kilicdaroglu’s campaign leader.

In 2019, Imamoglu ran a successful campaign against Erdogan‘s Justice and Development Party (AKP). In the end, he won the city and ended decades of right-wing rule.

Canan Kaftancioglu, the director of the CHP branch in Istanbul, is likewise expected to assume a more powerful part in the forthcoming round, as per sources.

Another source stated, “His team of advisers are settling in at the headquarters as we speak.”

The source says that Imamoglu will use his consultants at Istanbul Planning Agency, a subsidiary of Istanbul Municipality led by Emrah Sahan and Gokhan Gunaydin, his adviser.

In the meantime, two sources with knowledge of recent events revealed that the CHP is currently working on finalizing a road map and had not yet developed a well-defined strategy for the runoff election.

On the other hand, Erdogan has already given the newly elected members of parliament instructions to remain in their respective electoral districts and continue their campaigns through the runoff.

According to the sources, Kilicdaroglu intends to launch a more intense campaign with a focus on the 5.2 million young voters and first-time voters.

Kilicdaroglu wrote on Twitter, addressing young voters, ” In our nation, there are more people who want change than there are who don’t. You don’t for even a moment have sufficient cash for fundamental necessities, including purchasing some espresso. Your happiness has been taken from you. However, youth ought to be lighthearted. You have not even been permitted to experience this for a day. They unite against you while we argue.”

Later on Tuesday, Kilicdaroglu named Mehmet Ali Yuksel, a CHP official addressing Istanbul’s ruined Kagithane region, as his counselor for decisions and constituent misleading publicity.