Turkey’s ruling party met yesterday to agree on a new leader and prime minister to replace incoming president, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu the frontrunner for the job.
Erdogan, who has dominated Turkey’s political scene for 11 years as prime minister, cut short his holiday to attend the executive committee meeting of his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to decide on his successor.
The press has been abuzz for days with reports that Davutoglu was favored for promotion to become prime minister under Erdogan’s presidency, which begins on Thursday next week.
Outgoing Turkish President Abdullah Gul appeared to leave the issue in no doubt, saying on Tuesday: “As far I understand, Ahmet Davutoglu will be the next head of government.”
After winning the Aug. 10 election, Erdogan has been keeping the pulse of the party, asking members to put forward their nominees for AKP leader and prime minister in anonymous polls, and the results revealed overwhelming support for Davutoglu.
“Up to 80 percent of party members have voted for Davutoglu during intra-party polls,” a government official said on condition of anonymity.
Davutoglu has been loyal to Erdogan as an advisor before being promoted to the job of foreign minister in 2009.
“One would wish that the office of prime minister is built upon achievements, not failures. Today Davutoglu is a man regarded more with criticism than praise,” said Aykan Erdemir, lawmaker of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
As president, Erdogan is widely expected to wield great influence over his party in the run-up to next year’s parliamentary polls.
CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu told Today’s Zaman daily that Turkey was heading to a “new era of puppet prime ministers.”
“Nobody believes Davutoglu will run the government with his own vision, but under the tutelage and directives from the president,” Erdemir said. “This will bring Turkey closer to authoritarianism than democracy.”
Erdogan has vowed to break with the tradition of ceremonial presidencies in Turkey and be a powerful head of state.
Gul had been seen as a candidate for prime minister, but analysts believe that the AKP timed the succession process to take place before he leaves office so he could not take part.
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