Divisions between Davutoğlu and Erdoğan, rumoured for months, erupted into the open on Wednesday May 04,2016, with the two leaders holding crisis talks at the presidential palace.
On Thursday Davutoğlu said he would step down after an extraordinary party meeting to be held on May 22,2016
Turkey’s main opposition leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, described Davutoğlu’s resignation as a “palace coup” in a press conference called immediately after.
“Davutoğlu’s resignation should not be perceived as an internal party issue, all democracy supporters must resist this palace coup,” he said at the Republican People’s party headquarters in Ankara.
Note
Ahmet Davutoğlu became the PM in August 2014when Recep Tayyip Erdoğan moved from the premiership to the presidency
Since becoming president in August 2014 after over a decade as prime minister,Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to tighten his grip on the levers of power, leading critics to accuse him of authoritarianism
Ahmet Davutoğlu was expected to play a backseat role as Erdoğan pushed ahead with plans to make the largely ceremonial role into an all-powerful executive position, yet Davutoğlu tried to act independently on a range of issues and had at best offered half-hearted support to plans for a stronger presidency.
The two differed over the pre-trial imprisonment of academics and journalists, which Davutoğlu opposed, and over the possibility of the resumption of a peace process with the Kurdish rebels, which Erdoğan ruled out.
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