Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli on Thursday said the party will not nominate own candidate for Istanbul mayoral race in 2019 local elections.
Bahçeli explained the decision by citing result of previous elections in Turkey's largest city.
"Is there any point in nominating a candidate, saying 'We too have a candidate,' in a place where we will not win?" Bahçeli said, adding, however, that MHP candidates will compete in districts.
The MHP was examining the possibility of having a candidate in Turkey's other two of the three most populated cities — capital Ankara and Izmir, he said.
Bahçeli also stressed that having a candidate competing against one from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) does not violate the spirit of the two parties' alliance.
Ahead of snap general election on June 24, the AK Party and the MHP formed an election alliance called the People's Alliance, which ultimately received 53.6 percent of the votes.
