Turkey`s ruling party is set to replace Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu at an extraordinary congress in the coming weeks, officials said on Wednesday, signaling the end of his term as premier and plunging the country into political uncertainty, Reuters reported.
The decision, confirmed to Reuters by five AK Party officials, came after a meeting of more than 1-1/2 hours between Davutoglu and President Tayyip Erdogan that followed weeks of increasingly public tension between the two men, according to Reuters.
”The president and prime minister reached agreement on the congress … I don`t think Davutoglu will be a candidate again,” one of the officials told Reuters.
Erdogan wants an executive presidency in Turkey to replace the current parliamentary system, a plan for which Davutoglu has offered only lukewarm support, according to the report. His departure is likely to pave the way for a successor more willing to back Erdogan`s ambition of changing the constitution and strengthening the presidency, a move opponents say will herald growing authoritarianism.
The European Union is counting on Turkey to help stop migrants streaming into the continent under a landmark accord brokered by Davutoglu, and Washington is drawing on NATO member Ankara`s support in fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, the report notes.
Top stories
Not only Russia. How populists destroy the greatness of the West Wednesday, October 4, 2023 - 06:27 (EEST)
-
