Former Turkey PM Davutoglu resigns from governing party

Ahmet Davutoglu, former Turkish prime minister, announced on Friday he was parting ways with the governing party.

Davutoglu, prime minister for nearly two years in 2014-2016, was facing a hearing within the Justice and Development (AK) Party. Davutoglu and three other former lawmakers were referred to the party’s disciplinary board on Sept 2.

Speaking to reporters in the capital Ankara, Davutoglu said “consultation channels” in the party were closed, claiming that it had “no possibility of transformation.”

Davutoglu, also a former foreign minister, said the party’s longtime principles and goals are being stymied, and there is no room for even “well-intentioned criticism and advice.”

Alluding to rumours he might be part of a new party, Davutoglu said, "From now on, it is both a historical responsibility and a requirement of our obligation to our nation to start a new political movement and set off on a new path in line with the basic principles we mentioned."

Davutoglu had voiced similar sentiments in a 22-page statement he released this April.

After serving as current President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's foreign policy adviser from 2003 to 2009, Davutoglu was foreign minister from 2009 to 2014 before becoming AK Party chairman and prime minister.

In May 2016, Davutoglu stepped down from both posts and was succeeded by Binali Yildirim, Turkey’s last prime minister before the position was eliminated in constitutional reforms.