İYİ Party deputy chair resigns after rejecting Kılıçdaroğlu’s presidential candidacy

Cihan Paçacı has resigned from the Presidency of Corporate Relations of İYİ Party after saying they can field their own candidate “If Kılıçdaroğlu insists on running for office."

Thursday January 26 2023 06:58 pm

Duvar English

Deputy chair of the right-wing opposition Good (İYİ) Party, Cihan Paçacı on Jan. 26 announced his resignation from the Presidency of Corporate Relations of his party.

Paçacı’s move came after his latest remark that “If (main opposition CHP leader) Kılıçdaroğlu insists on running for office, the İYİ Party can field its own candidate.”

“We want the candidate who will win the election. We see an objection to Kılıçdaroğlu from the public. We, as the İYİ Party, cannot ignore this objection,” Paçacı told journalist Nagehan Alçı from Habertürk.

On the same day, Paçacı resigned from the Presidency of Corporate Relations of his party.

Announcing his resignation, Paçacı said "I see that my statement about the presidential candidacy process of the opposition bloc, which is the hope of our country and our nation, stirred comments beyond the purpose."

Previously, İYİ Party leader Akşener reportedly said to her party officials that statements that might disrespect the will of the Table of Six should be avoided.

While there are rumors that Good (İYİ) Party leader Meral Akşener favors CHP’s Istanbul Mayor İmamoğlu instead of Kılıçdaroğlu, some senior CHP figures claimed that Kılıçdaroğlu will be their candidate against Erdoğan.

Kılıçdaroğlu said that it is the Table of Six that will choose the presidential candidate and that he will accept to run for presidency if six leaders agree upon him.

“Table of Six” is the name of alliance of the six opposition parties that are united to change Turkey’s presidential regime to “strengthened parliamentary system”, consisting the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), centre-right İYİ (Good) Party, Islamist Felicity (Saadet) Party, Democrat Party (DP), DEVA (Democracy and Progress) Party and Future (Gelecek) Party.

Some experts say that CHP’s Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu or Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş should run for presidency because Kılıçdaroğlu may not attract enough conservative voters from the ruling alliance. They express that Erdoğan's election campaign may prevail against Kılıçdaroğlu because of the former's rhetoric.