Analysis: What Behind Turkey’s Davutoglu Resigning as AKP Leader?

AhlulBayt News Agency - The Turkish Prime Minster Ahmet Davutoglu in a press conference on May 6, 2016, announced he would step down as leader of Justice and Development- AKP for short- at an extraordinary congress set to be held on May 22 and so he would not bid to get the prime minister post again.

This resignation is coming while during the past few months there has been a lot of talk in Turkey’s media about a rift between the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and PM Davutoglu.

In the present conditions, many of the political analysts are trying to get in spotlight the real reasons behind the resignation of Davutoglu as party leader and also as premiere. Trying to answer the question, this analysis focuses on Erdogan’s political conflicts and personal differences with Davutoglu, as at the same time Erdogan’s political personality and behavior in dealing with his intra-party rivals would be subject of a concentration.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a religious politician and co-founder of the AKP- together with Abdullah Gul- following the 2000 has played an indispensable role in the Turkish politics. After three terms in office as prime minister of the country and because the constitution did not allow more than three terms holding of the office as prime minister, Erdogan, to save his power, has found it appropriate to be a president. Finally, winning 50 percent of Turkish people’s direct vote in presidential race on August 10, 2014, Erdogan won the title as twelfth president in history of Turkey. Considering the Erdogan’s slogans during his election campaign and the fact that according to the Turkish constitution he could become president of Turkey for two respective terms, it could be claimed that he had a specific plan to become the country’s first powerful man.

Erdogan has promised his fans, during the presidential campaign, that he would transform then-ceremonial presidency post to the country’s highest administrative post. Furthermore, because he can be the country’s president up to 2023- for two five-year terms- the efforts to seize the full power seem to be crucial for President Erdogan.

On the other side of the power in the administrative body of the country there is an academic man who is a professor in political science and international relations, and who in 2010 was chosen among the world’s top 100 thinkers. With a focus on the features and behavior of Davutoglu and his doctrine for Turkey’s foreign policy, known as the Strategic Depth, it can be said that he never wanted to be a sole instrument for implementation of the orders. Psychologically, it could asserted that Davutoglu as a thinker of the international relations has the right to give theories on the internal and regional issues. However, such person as Erdogan who demands grasping the power in both party and the government is in intellectual conflict with Davutoglu. Without doubt Davutoglu, remembers the way Erdogan treated Abdullah Gul, the former president and one of the AKP’s prominent figures, and of course he is not interested in seeing the history repeated.

The fact is that Recep Tayyip Erdogan cannot allow somebody else in the government or even in a lower position inside the AKP stand as his rival over power. Actually, Erdogan felt this danger twice; when a rift rose between him and Abdullah Gul and now that he has differences with Ahmet Davutoglu.

Erdogan put strains on Abdullah Gul, his co-thinker and one of his closest fellows in foundation of AKP, and removed him in 2014 from the politics. Now, the same account is taking place as recently some documents were published, accusing Davutoglu of betraying AKP’s doctrines and policies. The documents’ authenticity is not proven yet, however, this seen as the first phase of political pressures on the country’s prime minister. Following these pressures, Erdogan has raised constitutional reforms to pave the way for changing Turkey’s parliamentary system to presidential one.

Certainly, the most significant sticking point between Erdogan and Davutoglu is the reformation of the Turkish constitution. Before holding the parliamentary election on June 7, 2105, and later during the snap parliamentary election on November 1, 2015, Erdogan pledged to his party’s fans that he would negotiate with other parties to prepare the ground for changes in the constitution. However, since the parliamentary election of November 2015 in which the AKP won the majority in the legislative body, no serious steps have been taken yet to reform the constitution due to gaps between Erdogan and Davutoglu over the quality and quantity of the constitutional reforms.

Actually, it was obvious that in the upcoming congress of the AKP, set for May 22, even if Davutoglu sought it, the pro-Erdogan majority in the party would have opposed Davutoglu’s another term as the party’s leader. According to the AKP’s statute, the leader of the party is also the country’s prime minister. This means that in the game of power, Davutoglu is easily removed by pro-Erdogan faction inside the AKP. Meanwhile, Davutoglu took pre-emptive step, announcing that he resigned as leader of his party and would not become candidate for leadership of AKP in the upcoming extraordinary congress.




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