ANKARA, May 11. /TASS/. Turkish presidential candidate Muharrem Ince, head of the Homeland Party, said on Thursday that he was withdrawing from the race in a speech broadcast by local television stations.
"I want every household to cast their vote for the Homeland Party. I, for my part, am pulling out of the presidential election. Be happy," he said.
Ince cited inappropriate and unnecessary pressure that was being put on him through various provocations, accusations and disinformation as the reason behind the decision.
"I have been in politics for more than 40 years, but in all those years I have not seen what I have seen in the last 45 days. Some fake checks, fake videos. My photo was put on some Israeli porn site. Neither the police nor the prosecutor's office is investigating this. This is slander. The Turkish state failed to protect my reputation," he said. Ince stressed that there was a concerted effort to ruin his reputation during the campaign.
This leaves three politicians in the running for president of Turkey. These are incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his main rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who leads the Republican People’s Party, and ATA Alliance candidate Sinan Ogan. Turkey's presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on May 14.