There is no legal gap or confusion about President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s candidacy in the upcoming presidential election, ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Deputy Chair Numan Kurtulmuş declared Friday amid an outcry from the opposition.

A joint statement followed the nine-hour-long 11th summit of Türkiye’s six-party opposition alliance on Thursday, comprising the Republican People's Party (CHP) and Good Party (IP) who allied themselves with four smaller parties, the Felicity Party (SP), Future Party (GP), Democrat Party (DP) and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) to challenge Erdoğan and his People’s Alliance, which includes the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The parties argued that Erdoğan "cannot possibly run for president again in upcoming election unless the Parliament decides to renew elections."

According to the Constitution, the Parliament can only renew elections if third-fifths of lawmakers are in favor. The president too reserves the right to renew elections, which would mean presidential and general elections would take place together.

Article 2 in the Presidential Election Law stipulates that if the elections are decided to be renewed, the decision will become official once published in the Official Gazette and the first Sunday following the 60th day afterward will host the elections.

The opposition bloc has been hinging its objections on the conviction that Erdoğan, who became the first president to be directly elected by public votes in 2014 and took the presidential oath of office in June 2018 after people endorsed in a 2017 referendum for the official transition to the new presidential system of governance, would be running for a third time in 2023, which is against the new law that limits the president to two terms only.

Kurtulmuş, however, clarifies the confusion and explained that Erdoğan would be running for his second term in May 2023, citing Article 3 of the Presidential Election Law stating that the president could run for one more time if the Parliament renews elections during their rule.

"There is no legal gap about this. It’s obvious these people, who have nothing political to say, are trying to cast doubts in the public mind by using this (tactic)," he added.

He lambasted the six parties for "failing to unite around a single idea and only agree on the opposition."

"Only a few weeks ago, they said they wouldn’t discuss whether the president could run again but as soon as the election date was announced, they’re now on the chorus that they ‘won’t allow the Erdoğan to run again.’ They’re still unable to discuss their own candidate, let alone decide on one," Kurtulmuş added.

In their joint statement, the opposition parties argued the Constitution had "clear provisions" preventing Erdoğan from putting forth his candidacy one more time unless the Parliament calls for renewal. "We are letting the public know we do not accept this disorderliness of declaring a presidential bid for the third time in violation of the Constitution," the statement read.

Reiterating "readiness" for May 14 elections, the alliance claimed the presidential system of governance has "become a problem of survival" for Türkiye and said their meeting saw "many concrete steps taken toward winning the election and governing the country with the reinforced parliamentary system."

The bloc is set to release its Roadmap to Transitional Period following a final assessment along with determining a presidential candidate.

The 11th summit was the first time the party leaders assembled to discuss their presidential candidate. Yet, it did not yield a name, which attracts more curiosity than the bloc’s electoral program or roadmap.

"We assembled to discuss the method of choosing the candidate, not the candidate," the leaders said in defense.

Their monthslong hesitancy and uncertainties borne out of internal bickering have spurred criticism for apparent "disunity", as well as a decline in trust from opposition supporters.

Indeed, the main opposition’s candidate has been a heated discussion not just for the alliance but all of Türkiye, especially with the recent finalization of the election date.

Several names have been thrown in the hat, including Ankara and Istanbul mayors Mansur Yavaş and Ekrem İmamoğlu, alongside CHP Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the IP leader Meral Akşener.

The CHP itself has been resolute about supporting Kılıçdaroğlu in the presidential race but other leaders in the six-party alliance have also sought a seat in the spotlight, with DEVA Chair Ali Babacan even declaring he "could win the election and perform the job flawlessly."

Due to facing a political ban and a prison sentence in a separate case, İmamoğlu’s candidacy stands extremely risky for the alliance and Kılıçdaroğlu appears to be the most likely candidate to stand against Erdoğan. But the 74-year-old former civil servant's failure to light up opinion polls has so far not helped his case. Akşener, on the other hand, had previously stated that she did not aim to be the president, eyeing instead a prime ministerial seat in the new system the alliance would build, if elected.

There is also a growing hostility within the CHP toward Akşener whose frequent and public support for İmamoğlu in particular has caused a divide in the alliance. There are internal debates around how the unknown candidate would act if elected, with GP Chair Ahmet Davutoğlu arguing the candidate would be steered by the instructions of the alliance in making decisions for specific assignments and stirring up debates about whether it would be Constitutional to have such a "puppet president."

Erdoğan himself lambasted the concept, saying, "They want a puppet president they will manage. They imagine a commander-in-chief who would serve as an aide to members of the ‘table for six.’ They want voters to elect an unknown candidate without any vision or plans."

In the meantime, the People's Democratic Party (HDP), so far excluded from the alliance despite being the third largest in Parliament, is looking to field its own candidate while trying to stave off a closure case on the sidelines. A Supreme Court prosecutor’s bid to block Treasury funding for the party and shut its activities down altogether threatens the party’s chances in the upcoming elections, but co-chair Pervin Buldan has been insistent.

The party’s other co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, currently jailed on a myriad of charges mostly terrorist-related, urged his party to back the Nation Alliance’s candidate instead.

Demirtaş himself ran twice in presidential elections, first in 2014 and then in 2016.

"I am in favor of backing a joint candidate. At this stage, it seems more likely that the HDP will nominate its own candidate. A compromise with the HDP through negotiations could still produce a joint candidate representing Türkiye's entire opposition – including the Kurds," Demirtaş told AFP on Friday from prison in the western city of Edirne.

Buldan has been frustrated by the six-party alliance's refusal to openly court the HDP vote.

The parties, after releasing their declarations on Jan. 30, are set to announce their candidate in February, an official said recently.

The 2023 elections will likely be the first time with two rounds, as it will be the first since the country switched to a presidential system of governance. If no candidate secures more than 50% of the vote, a second round of voting would be held on May 28.