Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu on Thursday said he would resign as the prime minister of Turkey and the chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party. The announcement comes a day after his meeting with President Recep Tayyip ErdoÄŸan.
Differences had cropped up between DavutoÄŸlu and ErdoÄŸan as the latter wanted the presidency to play a stronger role in governance, a proposal opposed by the incumbent prime minister, the Guardian reported.
The prime minister held a meeting with ErdoÄŸan at the presidential palace on Wednesday. "I decided that for the unity of the [ruling party] a change of chairman would be more appropriate. I am not considering running at the May 22 congress," DavutoÄŸlu said at party's headquarters in Ankara.
"This must be carried out in a peaceful way keeping the integrity of the party. Our president said he wanted a strong prime minister, and I tried to carry the flag the best I could. I never interfered with any decisions about our party. I never interfered with any decisions through a personal perspective. Our party is about to enter a new era, subsequent to consultations with my colleagues in the party," the New York Times quoted him as saying.
Presidential aide Cemil Ertem had said earlier on Thursday that the country would not hold snap elections and that the country and its economy would stabilise further "when a prime minister more closely aligned with President ErdoÄŸan takes office," according to the BBC.
However, critics have reportedly accused ErdoÄŸan of authoritarianism. "Turkey is galloping towards an authoritarian regime full speed ahead," the NYT quoted prominent journalist Asli Aydintasbas as saying.
According to reports, the recent development in Turkey might affect a deal that the DavutoÄŸlu's government brokered with the European Union and was preparing to implement. Turkey had agreed to keep a watch on the migration of refugees to Europe from Turkey in return for financial and political concessions.
