One of Erdoğan's opponents removed his candidate from the presidential election

Turkish presidential candidate Muharrem Inje, leader of the Fatherland party, stated that he would withdraw from the elections on Sunday, may 14. This was reported by Anadolu.

Inje said that this behavior was caused by a wave of compromises that hit him during the campaign. The politician claimed that for 45 days, his fake, compromising shots were scattered in the Turkish media, and that law enforcement agencies were excluded from investigating these facts.

Inje also stated that the state could not protect his reputation as a citizen of the country and a candidate for the presidency of Turkey.

According to Deutsche Welle, Inje did not state that he was reclaiming his candidacy in favor of any candidate in the presidential race. It also called on Turkish citizens to vote for their party in the parliamentary elections held on 14 may in parallel with the presidential elections.

Muharrem Inje, who lost the election to Erdoğan in 2018, was accused of being a “defender” of the ruling Justice and Development Party.

Turkish social media users and analysts note that Inje focused on the opposition candidate instead of criticizing the ruling party and its leader. For example, he supported the ruling party and accused the swordsman of being in contact with FETO (Fetullahchi Terör Örgütü)-this is how Turkish officials call the Gullen movement and use the word “terror organization” in its name.

Under current legislation, one of the Turkish presidential candidates must gain more than 50 percent of the vote to win. If none of them were able to do so, a second round would be held between the voting leaders — it was scheduled for 28 May.