NYT: Ahmet Davutoglu expected to be replaced
Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, a close ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will soon leave office, a government official said, reports The New York Times .
According to the source, Prime Minister’s departure is occurring amid a disagreement between the two men over Mr. Erdogan’s drive for more power.
The NYT also reports that the two leaders met on Wednesday night, according to the Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision that had not been announced publicly. “It’s unlikely that Davutoglu will run for leadership again,” he said.
The prime minister is expected to hold a news conference on Thursday after a meeting with officials of the governing Justice and Development Party, or A.K.P., according to Turkish news reports, which also said that Mr. Davutoglu was likely to step aside after a coming special party congress.
According to the source, simmering tensions between the President and the Prime Minister boiled over this week, leading to speculation in the Turkish news media about a rift. The tensions apparently reached a breaking point last week, after party officials stripped Mr. Davutoglu of his power to choose provincial party leaders.
According to experts, the new elected prime minister’s main mission will be to drive forward the presidential agenda.
“But even with a new prime minister, it will not be so easy for Mr. Erdogan to alter the Constitution as he wants. The A.K.P., which has been in power for more than a decade, with Mr. Erdogan the prime minister for much of that time, does not have enough seats in Parliament to approve the changes on its own or call a national referendum on a new constitution. Most opinion polls show the Turkish public opposes Mr. Erdogan’s proposed presidential system,” writes the newspaper.
According to the source, with Mr. Erdogan’s not having enough support to amend the Constitution, analysts have predicted that with a new prime minister, he could move to hold early elections in a bid to amass more seats in Parliament.
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