Turkish opposition nominate candidates for president
Turkish opposition parties nominated candidates Friday to run against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in next month's election, which will centralize even more powers into the hands of the president.
Last month, Erdogan called the election more than a year earlier than planned for June 24, and the opposition parties have been scrambling since to decide on their candidates.
Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, nominated lawmaker Muharrem Ince for the presidency. Meanwhile, the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, or HDP, said its imprisoned former leader Selahattin Demirtas would be its candidate.
The election is hugely important as it will transform Turkey's governing system to an executive presidency, a constitutional change that was narrowly approved last year in a referendum. As part of the reforms, the office of the prime minister will be abolished, with its powers largely transferred to the president.
The successful candidate needs to secure more than 50 percent of the vote.
