Turkey's opposition alliance, known as the "Table of Six," has declared Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), their presidential candidate.
The announcement comes after a meeting of the six leaders at the headquarters of the Felicity (Saadet) Party in Ankara, the capital.
Saadet leader Temel Karamollaoğlu announced that the six leaders had agreed to nominate Kılıçdaroğlu.
The CHP leader then took the floor to give a brief speech, saying, "Our greatest goal is to bring Turkey to peaceful and joyful days. God willing, we'll achieve this together.
"As the Nation's Alliance, we'll rule Turkey with consensus and consultation. We have agreed on ... a switch to the reinforced parliamentary system."
If he is elected, the five other leaders will be vice presidents, Kılıçdaroğlu also noted.
While the presidential and parliamentary elections are formally scheduled for June 18, Erdoğan has been expressing his intentions to bring the polls forward to May 14.
The alliance reunites
Today's announcement also marks the end of a dispute between the CHP and Meral Akşener's Good (İYİ) Party, the second-largest party in the alliance.
After a Thursday meeting, five leaders agreed on Kılıçdaroğlu's candidacy, whereas Akşener insisted that one of the mayors of Ankara or İstanbul should be the joint candidate, citing their popularity in election polls. This prompted Akşener to announce her party's decision to leave the alliance a day later.
However, today, the two mayors, who previously rejected Akşener's call for candicacy, visited the İYİ Party leader to persuade her to return to the alliance. While the meeting was underway, the five other leaders delayed their final meeting before declaring their candidate for about two hours in case Akşener accepted returning to the bloc, which eventually happened.
The Table of Six
The six-party bloc comprises the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the İYİ (Good) Party, the Democracy and Progress (DEVA) Party, the Gelecek (Future) Party, the Saadet (Felicity) Party and the Democratic Party (DP).