Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Thursday that he will run in the presidential elections next year, calling on the opposition to announce its candidate.
"Let me say it here, Tayyip Erdogan is the candidate of the People's Alliance," Erdogan said - during a gathering of the Justice and Development Party in the city of Izmir (west of the country) - referring to the alliance between the ruling Justice and Development Party and the Nationalist Movement Party.
Erdogan called on the leader of the opposition Republican People's Party, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, to announce his candidacy for the upcoming presidency.
Addressing Kilicdaroglu, he said;
"You always invoke the date of the next elections, and here I am telling you that the date of the elections is in June 2023, and you say that we have to get to know the candidate of the People's Alliance first, and here I am telling you that the candidate of our alliance is Tayyib Erdogan, so go ahead and announce your candidacy for the elections."
Erdogan accused Kilicdaroglu of not doing anything for the benefit of the Turkish people throughout his political career.
The Turkish president also criticized the opposition, indicating that it does not have any internal or external strategy that would qualify it to lead the country and face the dangers that surround Turkey.
Erdogan called on the supporters of the People's Alliance - made up of the Justice and Development Party and the National Movement - to make more efforts and work day and night in order to win the municipality of Izmir state in the upcoming local elections.
Many observers consider next year's elections to be one of the most important in Turkey's modern history.
The political arena is witnessing a competition between the People's Alliance versus the Ummah Alliance, which includes the People's Party, the Good, the Happiness, and the Democratic People's Party.
Also, former ministers and leaders of the Justice and Development Party defected, and formed two opposition parties: the first is the Future Party led by former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, and the second is the Democracy and Progress Party led by former Economy Minister Ali Babacan.