Despite mounting political pressure, the Turkish opposition appears confident of defeating President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the 2023 elections after two decades of his rule.
"The people hated Erdoğan. They say 'enough is enough,'" the head of the official opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, told the German Agency.
"The majority of Turks crave 'democracy, freedom and justice,'" Kılıçdaroğlu added during an interview he gave at the CHP headquarters in Ankara. He also promised that the defeat of Erdoğan will mark the beginning of a "new era" in the country.
The elections - parliamentary and presidential - in Turkey are scheduled to be held in June 2023, but Turkish media believe that they may be held early.
The six-party opposition alliance, led by Kılıçdaroğlu's CHP and the "Good Party" has yet to announce its joint candidate to face Erdoğan whenever the election is held.
This motley coalition of nationalists and conservative Islamists promises to turn the government back into a parliamentary one, ending the presidential system established by Erdoğan in 2018. The outgoing head of state has been accused by the opposition of gathering too much power in his hands.
Despite his powers, which allow him to determine developments from the judicial system to the economy, Erdoğan's popularity is on the decline, mainly due to the economy's problems.
Inflation, which has taken off — is above 80%,—, was pointed out by Good Party MP, Turhan Çömez.
"The people are getting ready to give to Erdoğan a lesson at the ballot box," Çömez assessed during an interview he granted to the German Agency.
Despite reforms as part of Erdoğan's effort to boost Turkey's EU accession process in the first years of his administration, analysts point out that much of the country's progress in areas from human rights to the rule of law, from independence of the judiciary as well as the economy were cancelled.
This especially occured after the failed military coup of 2016.
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