Turkey’s splintered opposition tries to reunite ahead of polls

Turkey’s splintered opposition tries to reunite ahead of polls

Turkey’s feuding opposition leaders met on Monday in a last-ditch effort to agree on a common candidate to challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May 14 elections.

Erdogan faces the fight of his political life in what many see as the most consequential election since Turkey’s birth after the Ottoman Republic 100 years ago.

The 68-year-old leader will need to overcome the twin obstacles of an economic crisis and a devastating earthquake in his bid to extend his Islamic rule into a third decade.

Opinion polls point to a tight race that’s very close.

But Erdogan’s task appeared to be a little easier when a key leader of the six-party opposition coalition walked out of the talks on Friday.