The Guardian:

The Turkish prime minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, has announced his resignation after 20 months in office, consolidating Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s position as Turkey’s unrivalled political leader and highlighting concerns about the country turning increasingly authoritarian.

The resignation, rumoured for several days amid deteriorating relations between the two leaders, paves the way for President Erdoğan to appoint an even more loyalist party member as Davutoğlu’s successor, a move dubbed a “palace coup” by critics and opposition politicians.

Speaking at the Justice and Development (AKP) party’s headquarters in Ankara, Davutoğlu said he would step down after an extraordinary party meeting on 22 May and not run for the office again.

“After consultations with the president I decided that it would be more appropriate for the unity of [the AKP] to change the chairman,” Davutoğlu said, adding that his period in office had been a successful one: “I have no sense of failure or regret in taking that decision.” He said he would “continue the struggle” as a party legislator...

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