Erdogan challenger Muharrem Ince gives up his candidacy

Shortly before the presidential elections in Turkey, one of the three challengers of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his departure. This further reinforces the already limited choice of direction between Erdogan and his challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Muharrem Ince, who defeated the 2018 presidential candidate, withdrew his candidacy on Thursday. A new president and parliament will be elected in Turkey on Sunday.

In recent days allegations of corruption have been leveled against Ince and compromising images have surfaced. Whether these are authentic is completely unclear. The 59-year-old said he did not want the larger opposition bloc behind Kilicdaroglu to blame him for his potential defeat.

Incumbent Erdogan reacted with regret to his opponent’s departure: “I’m really sorry”. Polls showed that Ince had no chance of winning the presidency. However, critics of Erdogan feared that Ince’s participation would make opposition leader Kilicdaroglu’s victory less likely.

According to research institute Metropoll, Ince had 1.2 percent of the vote, Erdogan 44 percent and his challenger Kilicdaroglu 46 percent. The third challenger, Sinan Ogan, got 2.6 percent. If none of the candidates can unite more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round, on 28.5. requires a drain.

Ince has not yet made a recommendation for another candidate. Ogan, candidate of an alliance of ultra-nationalist parties, tweeted that this is just the beginning. He refuted the assumption that he could also be eliminated.

Ince’s name will still appear on Sunday’s ballots. He was also on the list of candidates for elections abroad, most of which concluded on Tuesday.

Erdogan recently tried to win over voters with campaign promises. He explained that the lowest salary in the public sector will rise to the equivalent of €1,030 in July and thus double that – if he is re-elected. Kilicdaroglu had previously made a similar pledge.

The elections are accompanied by several crises. The national currency, the lira, has lost more than 52 percent of its value against the euro in the past two years and inflation in the country is around 44 percent. The southeast of the country is also struggling with the devastating consequences of the earthquakes in early February. (sda/dpa)