Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan held Wednesday talks with leader of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) to tie an alliance for 2019 elections in hope for his re-election at the head of the country.
Erdogan’s meeting with Devlet Bahceli focused on their alli-ance, which, according to the media, was suggested in the wake of the botched July 2016 military coup.
Bahceli condemned the coup blamed on US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gülen’s movement that Ankara considers a terror group.
According to media reports, leaders of Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and those of MHP suggested the establishment of a working group to work out the alliance model and institutionalize the merger.
Bahceli on Monday told reporters in Ankara that his party will not field a candidate for 2019 but will instead support Er-dogan’s re-election, Daily Sabah reports.
Erdogan welcomed the idea, terming the future proposed alli-ance a “domestic and national alliance.”
The AKP leader won presidential election in 2014 to become the country’s first elected president after changing the consti-tution.
The ruling party and MHP last year campaigned for April 16 constitutional amendment package awarding more power to the president.
The amendments, which alter the country’s governmental sys-tem to an executive presidential system, will take effect with the presidential election of November 2019.
With the new system, parties need to build alliances to reach the required 50+1 percent of votes needed for their presiden-tial candidate to be elected.
