Turkey election candidate drops out, putting Erdogan at risk

Minor Turkish election challenger Muharrem Ince withdrew his candidacy on Thursday, shaking up the race just days before Turks head to the polls.

Ince was one of the four candidates vying for the presidency on Sunday. Ince, who is 59 years old, did not explicitly endorse any other candidates when announcing his withdrawal.

What do we know about the decision?

"I am withdrawing from the race," Ince told journalists in front of the headquarters of his center-left Homeland Party. "I am doing this for my country."

The Homeland Party was seen as siphoning off votes from the Nation Alliance, a coalition of six opposition parties led by Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Both the Homeland Party and the Kilicdaroglu's Nation Alliance are seeking to unseat conservative incumbent Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has held power for two decades in Turkey. 

Although Ince is pulling out the presidential race, his party will still take part in the parliamentary election on Sunday. 

How did other candidates react to the withdrawal? 

Ince was hit with criticism for entering the race just two months before voting kicked off. Yet the Homeland Party leader had defended his decision to join the fray, saying he was a younger alternative to 74-year-old Kilicdaroglu.      

Kilicdaroglu, meanwhile, asked for Ince's support in a tweet following the withdrawal announcement: "Let us set resentments aside."

Erdogan, on the other hand, seemed solemn after Ince's decision.

"One of the candidates has withdrawn. It is impossible to understand why this happened. Honestly, I am sad," Erdogan said during a political event in the capital, Ankara. "I wish he had continued until the end."

Latest opinion surveys show Kilicdaroglu leading Erdogan by just a few points, but unable to break the 50% threshold to win the election outright on Sunday. If neither candidate can receive above 50% support, a runoff would be held two weeks later on May 28.

Ince's withdrawal, however, could mean Homeland Party voters throwing their support now behind the Nation Alliance, giving Kilicdaroglu a clear victory.  A survey released by Turkish pollster Metropoll found that 49% of Ince's support would go to Kilicdaroglu, with 22% going to Erdogan.   

The fourth candidate in the race, Sinan Ogan of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), is seen as pulling support from Erdogan's reelection bid.

wd/jcg (Reuters, AFP, AP, dpa)