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Turkey PM quits as Erdogan tightens grip
[DAWN] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday announced he was stepping down as ruling party chief and premier, in a shock resignation set to further boost President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... 's growing powers. Divisions between Davutoglu and Erdogan that had been rumoured for months erupted into the open on Wednesday, with the two leaders holding crisis talks at the presidential palace that failed to resolve the conflict. Davutoglu said after a central executive committee of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that the party would hold an extraordinary congress on May 22 and he would not be standing for a new mandate. This means that the premier -- who has headed the government since 2014 when Erdogan moved from the premiership to the presidency -- will step aside from his twin jobs of AKP boss and prime minister. According to the conventions of the AKP -- a party co-founded by Erdogan to bring Islam into the mainstream of Turkey's secular politics -- the party chairman and head of government are the same person. "I don't think I will be a candidate in the next congress in the current circumstances," Davutoglu said. He added that after "consultations with friends", including Erdogan, "I have decided that it will be better to change party leader... for the continuation of the AK Party's unity." In an emotional farewell statement in which he took no questions, Davutoglu gave a long description of the achievements since he became premier. "There is no feeling of failure or regret in making this decision" to step aside, he said. Posted by: Fred 2016-05-06 |
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