Candidate withdraws from presidential race in boost to Erdogan’s main challenger

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A candidate in Turkey’s presidential election has withdrawn from the race, a move that is likely to bolster President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s main challenger. Muharrem Ince, the leader of the center-left Homeland Party, was one of four contenders running for president in Sunday’s vote. He had come under intense criticism for splintering the votes of the six-party Nation Alliance, which has united behind the candidacy of main opposition party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, and of possibly forcing the presidential race into a second-round runoff. Ince told reporters Thursday he was withdrawing “for my country.”