Erdogan ally set to be new leader of Turkish ruling party - AKP spokesman

Record ID: 102831

  • Title: Erdogan ally set to be new leader of Turkish ruling party - AKP spokesman
  • Date: 19th May 2016
  • Summary: ISTANBUL TURKEY (MAY 19, 2016) (REUTERS) POLITICAL ANALYST AND SENIOR POLLSTER, ADIL GUR, WALKING PAST CAMERA (SOUNDBITE) (Turkish) POLITICAL ANALYST AND SENIOR POLLSTER, ADIL GUR, SAYING: "The system is vulnerable to stalemate; even if the most easy-going person takes the helm as the prime minister. Turkey cannot continue with this system. Even if Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu (the opposition's candidate for presidency) was elected instead of Tayyip Erdogan there would still be problems one day. Because the system is set up for stalemate. That is the main reason that lies beneath Mr. Davutoglu's statement on May 4, saying he is leaving his post. The system cannot function in its current shape."
  • Embargoed: 3rd June 2016 11:57
  • Keywords: Turkey politics AK Party leadership Prime Minister President Tayyip Erdogan Ahmet Davutoglu Binali Yildirim
  • Location: ANKARA, ISTANBUL, MALATYA AND IZMIR, TURKEY
  • City: ANKARA, ISTANBUL, MALATYA AND IZMIR, TURKEY
  • Country: Turkey
  • Reuters ID: LVA0044IH4CAV
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART AUDIO QUALITY AS INCOMING
    Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim was announced on Thursday (May 19) as the likely new leader of the ruling AK Party and therefore the next prime minister, cementing President Tayyip Erdogan's hold on government as he seeks to extend his powers.
    Yildirim, a close ally of Erdogan for around two decades, will be the sole candidate for the AKP leadership at a special party congress on Sunday (May 22), AKP spokesman Omer Celik told a news conference after a meeting of the party's executive board.
    The AKP, founded by Erdogan, is electing a new leader after Ahmet Davutoglu announced earlier this month he was stepping down as head of the party and therefore as prime minister following an increasingly public rift with Erdogan.
    Yildirim, a co-founder of the AKP, is seen as more likely to back Erdogan's aim of changing the constitution to create a presidential system; a move opponents say will bring growing authoritarianism.
    Erdogan and his supporters see an executive presidency, akin to the system in the United States or France, as a guarantee against the fractious coalition politics that hampered the government in the 1990s. His opponents say he is merely furthering his own ambition.
    A new cabinet could be announced as early as Monday (May 23), AKP sources have told Reuters.
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