Erdoğan ‘sorry’ that İnce quits presidential race, Kılıçdaroğlu invites him to opposition alliance

Erdoğan, Kılıçdaroğlu, Oğan and İnce.

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Muharrem İnce, leader of the Homeland (Memleket) Party, announced today that he is withdrawing his candidacy for the presidency ahead of Sunday's dual election.

According to recent polls, İnce had a voter support rate of between 2% and 5%, and he has not yet announced his support for any of the other three candidates.

During the 2018 presidential elections, İnce ran as the candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) against President Erdoğan. It was speculated that İnce could potentially take votes away from CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, thereby aiding Erdoğan's re-election.

Sİnce İnce made his announcement after the deadline for candidate registration, his name will still appear on the ballot papers.

Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the CHP and the opposition alliance candidate, called on İnce to join the opposition alliance. On Twitter, he said, "My invitation is still valid. Let's put our past differences aside. We welcome Mr. İnce to join us in our fight for a better Turkey."

In response, President Erdoğan expressed his disappointment that İnce had withdrawn his candidacy. He said, "One of the candidates has withdrawn from the race. It's not clear why he did that. I'm sorry to hear it. We will continue on our path with the other candidates. What's important is the decision of the Turkish people." 

At an AKP rally in Ankara's Pursaklar district, after Erdoğan's speech, his adviser Orhan Karakurt called on İnce's supporters to vote for Erdoğan.

İnce's withdrawal from the race has caused a stir among the public. It remains to be seen what impact his withdrawal will have on the overall election results. (RT/TY/AÖ/VK)