MHP leader says no intention for presidential bid

Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli has strictly dismissed the idea of running as a candidate in the upcoming presidential election, vowing to stick to his decision come hell or high water.

Bahçeli reiterated on June 5 that their party has not named any potential candidate yet, as his consultations with civil society organizations have still been ongoing in a bid to find a societal consensus on a joint candidate to stand against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s highly likely candidacy.

His remarks came in response to a reporter’s question recalling his name being cited for candidacy.

“As the leader of the MHP, at our party’s executive body’s meeting on the day when the presidential [election] process began at the MYK [Central Executive Board], which is the second most important executive body, and during a meeting with our provincial chairs, which we assume as the backbone of our party; I shared with my friends that I don’t have any plans for presidential candidacy under any condition. No matter who writes what and where, the ülkücü [idealist] movement stands behind its promise,” Bahçeli said, speaking to reporters following a visit to the Union of Turkey’s Agriculture Chambers (TZOB).