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Turkey's Davutoglu Breaks Ties with Erdogan, AK Party


Fri 13 Sep 2019 | 01:53 PM
Yassmine Elsayed

This morning, Turkey's former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, once President Tayyip Erdogan's closest ally, announced his resignation from the ruling AK Party and again criticized its ability to govern.

Though he did not immediately launch a new party as expected, Davutoglu said that the AK Party, which has fallen under the control of a small team, and that the party has no longer the ability to be a solution to the country's problems.

Speaking to a press conference in Ankara, Davutoglu said: "It is evident that there is no internal evaluation, that the channels for...negotiations are closed, and that there is no possibility of an internal change.”

Earlier, five other lawmakers resigned from the AK Party (AKP) alongside Davutoglu, 60.

The party had reportedly taken disciplinary action against him over his criticism of its policies, and was expected to soon dismiss him.

Former economy tsar Ali Babacan and former president Abdullah Gul, both founding AKP members, plan to launch a new rival party this year.

Davutoglu did not hint that he would be joining them, but instead reiterated their view that the country needed a new political direction.

"It has become a historic responsibility for us to build a new political movement," Davutoglu said.

"In order to prevent the AK Party's loyal base from living through the sadness of seeing their own chairman dismissed, we are resigning from our party, for which we gave years of brow sweat and guidance," added the former Professor.

Davutoglu served as prime minister between 2014 and 2016. He later slammed Erdogan and the AKP's economic management, and its curbing of basic liberties and free speech.

The AKP has governed Turkey since 2002.

The Turkish former PM voiced a harsh criticism against the President after Erdogan won sweeping powers under a new executive presidential system that Davutoglu called "distorted." Erdogan then named his son-in-law Berat Albayrak finance minister. Davutoglu had said then that the country did not belong to a person or a family.