Muharrem Ince, who is the leader of the Homeland Party and a candidate for the presidency of Turkey, has announced that he will withdraw from the upcoming election on May 14 due to a campaign of slander against him, Anadolu reports.
He claimed that fake, compromising photos of him had been circulated in Turkish media for 45 days, and law enforcement agencies failed to investigate the matter.
Ince expressed disappointment that the state had not protected his reputation as a citizen and candidate of Turkey. He did not endorse any other candidate but urged citizens to vote for his party in the parliamentary elections that are taking place on the same day. Ince, who lost the 2018 election to Erdogan, was accused of being a protector of the ruling party
Critics have suggested that Ince focused too much on the opposition candidate and accused him of having ties to the Gulen Movement rather than criticizing the ruling party and its leader.
The presidential election requires a candidate to win more than 50% of the votes. If this does not happen, a second round between the leading candidates will take place on May 28.
Comments (0)