Former Turkish President Abdullah Gül ruled out running for the presidency in June, dousing fevered speculation he would challenge President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
"There is no longer the question of my candidacy," Gül said, blaming a lack of "wide consensus" between opposition parties.
Gül said the leader of the Saadet (Felicity) Party, Temel Karamollaoğlu, had independently sought to rally supporters behind the former President.
"I had said that if there was a wide consensus, I would not shy away from doing my bit," Hurriyet Daily cited Gül as saying.
"We are too busy with reciprocal personal attacks and political manoeuvring rather than what is good for Turkey... Turkey unfortunately does not have a positive agenda. In this environment, we are heading for elections," Gül added.
