Turkey's Erdogan dismisses opposition split and says his ruling alliance will stay on same path

FILE PHOTO: Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu addresses his supporters during a rally to oppose the conviction and political ban of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a popular rival to Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, in Istanbul, Turkey, December 15, 2022. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday that his ruling AK Party and its nationalist ally will continue on their planned course after the opposition bloc split over who should run to challenge him in a national election scheduled for May.

"We've said this was going to happen months ago...We have already set our goal...Whatever they do, we continue to work on our plan, on our road map," state-owned TRT Haber reported Erdogan as saying.