Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday he was ready to step down if his ruling party, in power since 2002, loses key local elections later this month.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday he was ready to step down if his ruling party, in power since 2002, loses key local elections later this month.

"I am ready to quit politics unless my party emerges winner in the elections" scheduled for March 30, said Erdogan, who is battling a damaging corruption investigation which poses the greatest challenge yet to his 11 years in power.

But the opposition slammed Erdogan's remarks as a "show of defiance".

"It is equal to taking hostage the will of the people and disrespecting society. Are the people obliged to vote for Erdogan?" asked Mehmet Sandir, the deputy head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

The graft scandal broke in December with the detention of dozens of Erdogan allies on allegations of bribery, money laundering, gold smuggling and illicit dealings with Iran.

Erdogan has accused associates of ally-turned-opponent Fethullah Gulen, an influential Muslim cleric based in the United States, of concocting the probe.

But the scandal -- and his hardline response to it -- have done unprecedented damage to the premier's image at home and abroad.

Opinion polls show the scandal is hurting Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP), which weathered mass street protests in mid-2013.

A January survey by the Metropoll research company showed support for the AKP at 36.3 percent, far below the 50 percent it garnered in 2011's parliamentary elections.