Erdogan handpicked Davutoglu, a former academic and diplomat, to succeed him as Prime Minister in 2014 when he was elected to the largely symbolic presidency.
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“As it has become the norm in Turkey lately, Yildirim’s primary qualification for the positions of AKP leader and PM is not his ability, but his servility to the president”, Wolfango Piccoli, co-president of Teneo Intelligence in London, said in a May 19 report.
Erdogan accepted Davutoglu’s resignation and asked Yildirim to form the country’s new government.
Binali Yildirim, the country’s minister of transport, maritime, and communication, received 1,405 out of a total of 1,470 votes at a meeting of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP. The shake up comes after Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu stepped down on May 4.
“My legal bond with the AKP may have ended the day I took the (presidential) oath of office, but my bonds of love have never ended and never will”, said Mr Erdogan.
“The one-man rule has de facto begun, even though not constitutionally”, Ozer Sencar, director of the Metropoll research firm, told Reuters.
To achieve their goal, Yildirim and Erdogan will have to find a three fifths majority in the Turkish parliament to call a referendum on the issue, or a two thirds majority for direct approval.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu shake hands as they pose for a photograph during a final farewell in Ankara, Turkey, Thursday, May 19, 2016.
Erdogan’s supporters have criticized Davutoglu for not doing enough to push for the presidential system, although Davutoglu is on record as saying he supports such a change.
By AKP convention, the posts of premier and ruling party chief are held by the same person.
Yildirim is a longtime ally of President Tayyip Erdogan, who founded the party and has repeatedly called for an executive presidency.
However, in a message read out at Sunday’s congress, Erdogan said: “The bonds of my heart with you have never and will never be cut”.
Turkey struck a deal with the European Union in March under which people who cross into Europe illegally are being sent back to Turkey.
Turkey’s position on lifting immunity and resistance to changing its for the EU-Turkey migrant deal, part of which stipulates visa-free travel to the EU for Turkish citizens in exchange for Ankara’s cooperation to stem migrants.
In his speech before the vote Yildirim paid homage to Erdogan and expressed his devotion to him.
In his speech, Yildirim said Turkey would press ahead with operations against Kurdish rebels until the group’s armed campaign comes to an end, and he called on the European Union to end “the confusion” over Turkey’s membership bid and the migration deal. “Whether Turkey becomes a member or not, it will continue to expand its democracy and development with determination”, Yildirim said as quoted by AP.
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On his farewell speech on Sunday, Davutoglu vowed to remain engaged with the party, stressing again that his departure was not his choice but out of concern over the unity of the party.
