ANKARA
Turkey's two main opposition parties' joint decision to nominate Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu for the presidential election manifests the collapse of the opposition, ruling AK Party deputy Burhan Kuzu said Monday.
Kuzu's remarks came after the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) named Ihsanoglu, former head of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), as their joint nominee for the upcoming presidential election due on August 10.
"If [CHP leader] Kilicdaroglu would not know him if he bumped into Ihsanoglu on the street," said Kuzu, who is also the head of the parliament's constitution commission. "He cannot even pronounce his name properly, he calls him 'Islamoglu' [instead of Ihsanoglu]."
Kuzu criticized the left-leaning CHP for being unable to put up a leftist candidate, saying, "If PM Erdogan runs for president, he will be elected in the first round."
AK Party parliamentary group's deputy chairman Ahmet Aydin also critized Ihsanoglu's name, saying that the MHP's agreement with CHP on putting up a joint presidential candidate shows the fall of nationalist politics in Turkey.
"The nationalists could not manage to nominate a candidate from their base," said Aydin.
AK Party's vice chairman Mustafa Sentop said opinions of Ihsanoglu and those put forward by the two opposition parties were incompatible.
Pointing the political incompatibility between CHP and Ihsanoglu, AK Party's vice chairman Mustafa Sentop said that Ihsanoglu's political views are inappropriate with both MHP and CHP.
"At the most, Ihsanoglu can be a parliamentary candidate from AK Party," he said.
The 71-year-old retired as secretary general of the OIC - a collective body that promotes the interests of 57 member states - last year after being elected in 2005. Under his leadership the organization became more involved in humanitarian, social and economic issues. He is an author and diplomat who was born in Cairo to Turkish parents.
The vote will be the first time that Turkey's president is elected by direct popular vote.
A candidate needs more than 50 percent of the popular vote to be elected in the first round. If none of the candidates receives the required percentage, there will be a second round on August 24 between the two candidates who received the most votes.
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