Turkish politician may withdraw his candidacy for post of president

The candidate of Türkiye's Ata Alliance Sinan O?an may withdraw his candidacy for the post of president of Türkiye, Azernews reports with reference to the Turkish media.

It is expected that he will clarify this issue tonight, speaking on one of the Turkish TV channels.

On May 11, Turkish presidential candidate Muharrem Ince, the head of the Memleket Party, announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy from the struggle for the highest post.

The presidential and parliamentary elections in Türkiye will be held on May 14, 2023.

Voters will elect a president for a term of five years. Early elections in the country were postponed due to the deadly earthquake. It is estimated that about 65 million voters will cast their votes in the elections (over 60 million in the country, and some 3.6 million abroad).

The president of Türkiye is directly elected through the two-round system, under which a candidate must obtain a simple majority (more than 50 percent) of the popular vote in order to be elected. If no candidate secures an overall majority outright, then a runoff is held between the two most voted-for candidates from the first round, the winner of which is then declared elected.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been the president of Türkiye since 2014.