Kilicdaroglu, Erdogan's counterCandidate in Turkish Presidential Election

Turkish opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu has been chosen to be the counterCandidate of current Turkish President Recep Tayip Erdogan in elections expected to be held on May 14th.

The opposition coalition, comprised of six parties, elected him on March 6th as a candidate for president.

Kilicdaroglu, 74, is chairman of the second largest party in the state. He hopes to remove Erdogan from the presidential post after more than two decades in power.

Our “Our table of peace. Our only goal is to bring the state into the days of prosperity, peace and joy”, said Kilicdaroglu, chairman of the Republican People's Party (CHP), during a speech in Ankara.

“We will govern Turkey on the basis of consultations and consensus”, he stressed.

Polls suggest that races for presidential and parliamentary elections will be tight, with the opposition bloc at a little bit more than the ruling coalition.

The opposition bloc has pledged to give up Erdogan's many economic policies, those dealing with civil rights and foreign policies.

Many are praising the new Turkish elections as the most important elections in the 100-year history of this republic.

Former civilian employee Kilicdaroglu could benefit from the multi-year economic crisis and rising inflation, but also from last month's devastating earthquakes, which left more than 46,000 people dead in Turkey and sparked criticism of the country's government.

The opposition decided on the name of Erdogan's counterCandidate following intensive talks in recent days. The right-wing IYI party on Friday, after 72 hours of talks, rejected the opposition candidate. But, during Monday's meeting, this party reached compromise after Ekrem Imamoglu and Mansur Yavas, mayor of Istanbul, Ankara, who come from the CHP, would later be appointed vice president.

Kilicdaroglu, in his speech, also said the leaders of five opposition parties would serve in the post of vice president, if the opposition wins the elections.

Erdogan has experienced declining popular support, even before devastating earthquakes, as the country is facing high cost of living and inflation has reached 85 percent. However, last week, polls said his party, The AKP has managed to regain most of its support.

Erdogan has never faced difficult elections since his party gained power in 2002.