Ince, who had launched the Homeland in A Thousand Days campaign back in August, last week announced that he will soon establish a political party.

“I am not worried about establishing a party with a few lawmakers. We will form a political structure that will be able to obtain 50%+1% of the vote,” Ince said at a press conference.

Lawmakers Mehmet Ali Çelebi, Hüseyin Avni Aksoy, and Özcan Özel, who recently announced their resignation from the party, will join İnce’s newly established party.

Who is Muharrem İnce?

Muharrem İnce was elected four consecutive times in 2002, 2007, 2011, and 2015 as a Republican People's Party (Turkish: Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, abbreviated CHP) MP for Yalova, his hometown. He served as the CHP's parliamentary group deputy chairman for two terms.

İnce has stood for election as CHP chairman twice against current chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: first in September 2014 following the party's loss in the Turkish presidential election on 18 August 2014, and later in February 2018.

As the presidential candidate of the CHP in the 2018 Turkish presidential election, Ince received just over 30 percent of the votes, placing second behind outright first-round winner Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with 53 percent. (ILKHA)