November 25, 2025
Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak on the CHP's Challenge to Erdogan (Hebrew)
Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an expert on Turkey at the Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University and at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security, notes that even before Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s candidacy was announced on behalf of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) for the 2023 presidential elections, the secular opposition discussed the possible candidacy of İmamoğlu or Yavaş. However, Kılıçdaroğlu’s insistence led the two to decide to stand by him, including during campaign rallies.
“Yavaş managed to defeat Erdoğan’s candidates one after another, proving that Erdoğan’s candidates—and even Erdoğan himself—are not invincible,” emphasizes Dr. Cohen Yanarocak. “From the perspective of the Turkish president, the two charismatic candidates in provinces such as Ankara and Istanbul may represent a model sample for all of Turkey.”
Read the full article on Globes Israel (Hebrew).
Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak is an Adjunct Fellow at the Turan Research Center.