ANKARA, May 29 Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu will become the new leader of Turkey's opposition bloc, said Turkish analyst Engin Ozer.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the second round of Turkish presidential elections with over 52% of the vote, Turkish High Election Commission head Ahmet Yener said on Sunday.
“The opposition's first step will undoubtedly be to nominate a new candidate, probably Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who is younger, more popular and successful, to replace (Kemal) Kılıçdaroğlu as their leader. No one will be surprised that in new period, the opposition began to use Asian and nationalist statements more often instead of pro-Western ones. The only trump card left in the hands of the opposition is the problems in the economy and the problem of refugees, and these issues will often arise in the next period,» the analyst said.
According to him, Erdogan's foreign policy plan is to unite the Turkish world.
«Losing its former economic power and struggling with its problems, Ankara is losing its charm for Central Asia, but cultural ties are still a great advantage for Turkey. If Ankara manages to ease customs procedures with these Turkic-speaking countries and reduce customs rates among themselves, its economic and political influence in the region will increase. Suspicions of unlimited support for Azerbaijan will arise in the Caucasus. Restoring diplomatic relations with Armenia is vital for sustainable peace in the region, and normalization of bilateral relations can be expected within a few months . One of the most important potential problems for Turkey in the near future may be instability, which may arise as a result of public events inside Iran,» he stressed.