Turkish politician Muharrem Ince has withdrawn his candidacy for the presidential election on Sunday. Ince, who is the leader of the Memleket Partisi (Fatherland Party), made the announcement at a press conference in Ankara on Thursday.

According to forecasts, Ince could only have won between two and four percent of the vote. As the candidate of his former party CHP, he ran against Erdoğan in 2018 and lost. After his defeat, Ince left the party in dispute and founded his own.

Ince said he did not want the larger opposition bloc behind CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to hold him responsible for a possible defeat. In recent days, allegations of corruption were made against Ince. About 850 members, including parliamentary candidates, resigned from the party.