Muharrem İnce, a candidate for the Turkish presidency, has announced his withdrawal from the upcoming election, scheduled for Sunday.

İnce cited reasons such as slanderous attacks and harsh criticism as factors influencing his decision. Despite being one of four candidates, İnce's popularity remained low, with polling data indicating only around 2 percent of the vote in his favor.

During a press conference held on Thursday, the 59-year-old candidate stated that he made the choice to quit due to a smear campaign targeting him, which involved the circulation of fabricated images depicting him engaged in extramarital affairs and portrayed him as corrupt and affluent.

Although Ince's name will still be listed on the ballot, as the printing process had already taken place, he formally declared his withdrawal, expressing that his decision was made in the best interest of his country.

Muharrem İnce founded and currently leads the Homeland Party, a political party established in May 2021. Hailing from Yalova, his hometown, İnce previously served as a member of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and was elected as an MP for Yalova for four consecutive terms. Within the CHP, he held the position of parliamentary group deputy chairman from June 2010 to August 2014.

İnce has contested the CHP chairmanship twice, both times challenging the incumbent chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. The first attempt took place in September 2014 after the CHP's defeat in the Turkish presidential election held on August 18, 2014. The second attempt occurred in February 2018.

Notably, İnce represented the CHP as its presidential candidate in the 2018 Turkish presidential election. Despite securing over 30 percent of the votes, he finished in second place behind Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who won outright in the first round with 53 percent of the votes. (ILKHA)