Muharrem İnce, a member of parliament for Yalova, was announced as the presidential candidate of the Republican People's Party (CHP) on 3 May 2018.

Turkey needs to immediately be extricated from a political situation that breeds economic uncertainty, and its economy must be handled by independent and autonomous institutions.

[6] On European Union–Turkey relations, İnce is committed to Turkey’s bid to join the EU, the roots of which he traces back to the 1830s, during the Ottoman Empire’s Tanzimat period.

[8] As of 31 May, media suggested that "even die-hard CHP critics would concede" that İnce was "performing far better than expected", crisscrossing the country with a focus on promises to restore democracy and rule of law, and to offer better pay and education.

[6] Over the last week of May, İnce saw a 74 percent increase in social media popularity, bringing him close to Erdoğan who maintained the top spot on social media, with mentions and tags pertaining to him hitting the 1.3 million mark, with İnce at just over 1 million, while competitors Meral Akşener had 280,852, Selahattin Demirtaş 201,922 and Temel Karamollaoğlu 181,703.