site.btaKemal Kilicdaroglu Vows to Win Turkish Presidential Elections in One Round

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of Turkiye's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and candidate of the opposition alliance for president of the country, said he expects to win the presidential elections in a single round of voting, local media reported.

Turkiye will hold presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14. Kilicdaroglu and incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are the frontrunners in the presidential race. A number of other politicians have also applied with the Supreme Election Council for participation in the presidential elections, but analysts believe their chances of success are meagre.

"The elections will end in the first round. Citizens want change," Kilicdaroglu told the opposition Halk TV.

According to the most recent public opinion polls, the presidential elections will likely involve a second round.

Kilicdaroglu repeated his pledge that the people who lost their homes in the devastating earthquakes on February 6 will not pay for the new housing to be built for them and will be exempt from tax.

The leader of the Kemalist CHP said in the televised interview that if he wins the presidential race, he will transfer the Presidential Complex in Ankara to one of the larger universities or will convert it into a research centre. He said he plans to work in the Cankaya Mansion in the capital, which was the official residence of the Turkish presidents until 2014.

Kilicdaroglu also announced plans to increase the representation of women in the government and confirmed his intension to appoint Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu and Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavas as vice presidents.