Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to hold rally in northern city of Samsun
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will hold a rally in the northern city of Samsun today following a prior postponement.
Erdogan’s political rally will be in support of his ruling AK Party, which just celebrated its 21st anniversary earlier this month. The Party delivered Erdogan the Prime Minister’s seat in 2003 and Presidency in 2014. Additionally in Samsun, Erdogan will attend the aviation, space and technology festival “TEKNOFEST Black Sea.”
Expect Erdogan’s speech to heavily criticize Greece and reference the radar-locking of Turkish jets with an S-300 defense system just days ago. This is likely to project a tough stance on Turkey’s rival to shore up Erdogan’s image ahead of 2023’s general elections.
Six opposition parties have announced plans to nominate a joint-candidate who will run against Erodgan for President next year, threatening to stimy his decades-long political career. The most likely nominees are social democratic CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas. However, the opposition still risks being weakened due to political fissures. Absent from what has been termed the Six Party Table is the pro-Kurdish HDP, which is the nation’s 3rd largest party and therefore crucial to defeating Erdogan and his AK Party’s parliamentary majority.
