ANKARA, March 10 (Reuters) - Turkey's main opposition alliance plans to make former deputy prime minister Ali Babacan a vice president responsible for the economy if it wins a presidential election set for May 14, four senior sources in the alliance told Reuters on Friday.
They said the six-party alliance had also identified a candidate to be appointed as governor of the Turkish central bank, but did not say who it was.
"In a system that Babacan will manage, there will be a structure where important ministries will be undertaken by other parties," a high level official in the alliance said.
The official said the treasury and finance ministry, currently one institution, could be split into two.
Babacan was formerly a close ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, but quit his ruling AK Party in 2019 over differences about its direction and formed the Deva (Remedy) Party. He was also in charge of the economy under Erdogan and was well regarded by foreign investors at the time.
The Deva Party declined comment on Babacan's future role.
Another source familiar with the situation said Babacan would also oversee foreign investment and the overall investment climate.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the main opposition CHP, emerged on Monday as the alliance's presidential candidate to challenge Erdogan in the elections.
Polls suggest that the presidential and parliamentary votes in May will be tight, with the opposition bloc running slightly ahead of the governing alliance.
Regarding the central bank appointment, a CHP official said, "There is a candidate who knows central banking and will take over and start working immediately, and he is ready."
"There will be an independent central bank," the official said. "There will be no political interventions. In terms of economic management, Deva Party and Babacan seem very ready."
The sources said the alliance had agree that it would focus on repairing damage which they said had been done to institutions and that "non-market" practices will be ended.
These practices include central bank exchange rate controls, unorthodox monetary policy, loan restrictions and any market unfriendly policies.
"There is quite a lot of work. All the heads and members of the institutions have to go. The institutions have been damaged a lot. They need to be brought back on their feet," one official said.
