Breaking News Turkey
The leader of the Homeland (Memleket) Party surpassed the required 100,000 signatures on March 25 to run for the presidential election that will be held on May 14.
“Everything went as we planned,” said Muharrem Ince in a press conference at the party headquarters after he got the data. The process of collecting signatures will last until March 27 and will end at 8.00 p.m. on the same day.
The Republican People’s Party was Ince’s old party, which is now calling on Ince to withdraw his candidature against Kemal Kilicdaroglu, the candidate of the Nation Alliance and chairman of CHP.
Some opposition figures criticize Ince that his candidacy could result in split votes, causing Kilicdaroglu to lose the election. The Homeland Chairman, however, says he is decisive to run as a candidate.
Kilicdaroglu said he would visit Ince. “Ince’s criticism of going back to the past is not right. But he is right according to himself. Of course, we have made mistakes too,” said the CHP leader whose expectation is to achieve the election in the first round.
In return, Muharrem Ince underscored it did not mean he would negotiate his candidacy just because of the meeting with Kilicdaroglu.
Regarding the possibility of meeting with Kilicdaroglu, the 58-year-old politician also said, “There is not meeting request.”
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the candidate of the People’s Alliance.