Ex-presidential contender leaves Turkish opposition party

<p>ANKARA, Turkey &mdash; A politician who once ran as a presidential challenger to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan resigned Monday from Turkey’s main opposition party to form his own political movement.</p>
<p>Muharrem Ince, 56, said he was leaving the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, citing foreign policy differences and accusing the party — which was established by modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk — of abandoning its founding nationalist principles. </p>
<p>Three legislators who left the CHP last week will join Ince’s new party.</p>
<p>Ince was CHP’s candidate against Erdogan in Turkey’s 2018 presidential election, getting 31% of the votes behind Erdogan’s 53% support.</p>
<p>The politician indicated that he aims to run for president again and has ruled out any possibility of his movement backing a nationalist political alliance that is led by Erdogan’s ruling party. The CHP is part of a rival alliance with the center-right Good Party and other parties. </p>
<p>Ince had become a vocal critic of CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu and made unsuccessful bids to replace him as party chairman.</p>