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Turkey politics: Erdogan ally Yildirim to be appointed PM Turkey politics: Incoming PM urges move to presidential rule
(about 1 hour later)
Turkey's ruling AK Party is set to appoint a key ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as its leader and new prime minister, after a reported rift led Ahmet Davutoglu to quit. The ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who is set to become the country's new prime minister has called for a move to presidential rule.
Binali Yildirim, the outgoing transport minister, is the sole candidate at an extraordinary party congress in Ankara. Addressing a congress of the ruling AK Party before it confirmed him as party leader, Binali Yildirim called for a new constitution.
Addressing the congress, he said Turkey needed a new constitution and an executive presidential system. He said it was time to make the current "de facto situation" a "legal" one.
The issue is thought to have been behind the resignation of Mr Davutoglu. Mr Erdogan came to office in 2014 when Turkey held its first presidential election by direct national vote.
The BBC's Mark Lowen in Istanbul says Mr Yildirim will not step out of line with Mr Erdogan, even if supporting the constitutional change would see his role effectively scrapped. Previously, presidents had been elected by parliament.
Some Western leaders find Mr Erdogan hard to deal with, he says, and opponents believe an unchecked Mr Erdogan will clamp down further on dissent. As leader of the party, Mr Yildirim is expected to be made prime minister shortly.
But Mr Erdogan's supporters - mainly conservative, pious Turks - still see him as the man who gave them a political voice and insist he is right to exert his control, our correspondent says. The expected promotion of Mr Yildirim, who was previously transport minister, comes after Ahmet Davutoglu quit as prime minister over a rift with Mr Erdogan.
Mr Yildirim takes the job as Turkey faces security threats from PKK Kurdish militants and so-called Islamic State. Among challenges Turkey faces are security threats from PKK Kurdish militants and the Islamic State (IS) group, and its ambition to join the EU while tackling the migrant crisis.
A ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK ended weeks after elections in June 2015, and the renewed conflict has claimed hundreds of lives on both sides, particularly in Turkey's south-east. A role effectively scrapped: Mark Lowen, BBC News, Ankara
In his speech at the extraordinary congress, Mr Yildirim vowed to continue the struggle against Kurdish militants and Islamic State fighters. He does not ooze political pizzazz but Binali Yildirim has been named as the next AK Party leader for his loyalty to President Erdogan.
Mr Davutoglu resigned two weeks ago after failing to reconcile his differences with Mr Erdogan. He is succeeding Ahmet Davutoglu, forced out for disagreeing with the president on some policies and doubting Mr Erdogan's aim of changing the constitution to enhance his own position.
Mr Davutoglu also addressed the congress, praising the party and Mr Erdogan, but saying that it had not been his choice to step down. The president's critics fear his tightening of power, some Western leaders finding him hard to deal with and opponents believing an unchecked Mr Erdogan will clamp down further on dissent.
A reward for loyalty: Selin Girit, BBC News, Istanbul The president's diehard supporters, mainly conservative, pious Turks, still see him as the man who gave them a political voice, insisting he is right to exert his control.
The choice of Binali Yildirim has surprised few in Turkey, as he has been an Erdogan favourite for years. He has remained loyal in the most troubling times, and that loyalty appears to have paid off. What is clear is that the incoming prime minister will not step out of line with Mr Erdogan, even ready to support a constitutional change that would see his role effectively scrapped.
He has served as transport minister for many years, and did not hesitate to resign from his post to run for the mayoral elections in the western city of Izmir, a secular stronghold, at Mr Erdogan's request. Mr Yildirim was the sole candidate for party leader and prime minister at the extraordinary AKP congress in Ankara.
His name had come up as a possible candidate for the party leadership at last year's AKP congress. And that forced Mr Davutoglu to concede some of his powers within the party. "Turkey needs a new constitution," he was quoted by AFP news agency as asking the congress, to applause.
One AKP MP had to apologise after suggesting that the next prime minister would be a "low-profile" name. "Are you ready to bring in a presidential system?"
"What has to be a priority now is moving from the current de facto system to a legal system," he said.
On Turkey's long-standing EU membership bid, he said: "There is one thing that needs to be done by the European Union.
"This confusion over Turkey's full membership and the migrant issue has to be brought to an end. It is time for us to know what the EU thinks about Turkey."
He vowed to continue the struggle against Kurdish militants and IS. A ceasefire between Turkey and the PKK ended weeks after elections in June 2015, and the renewed conflict has claimed hundreds of lives on both sides, particularly in the south-east.
Mr Davutoglu, who resigned two weeks ago, also addressed the congress, praising the party and Mr Erdogan, but saying that it had not been his choice to step down.
"The sole reason behind my decision to hand over the position is the value I place on the unity of our party and my concern that the AKP movement does not come to any harm," he said.
Suat Kinkliogu, a member of the AKP's executive board until he quit politics, told the BBC that executive power was in effect being concentrated in the president's hands.
"Unfortunately President Erdogan has taken all of the strings of the party, the state and the parliament and this appointment pretty much means we will see a much more low-profile prime minister who will be very compliant and going along with what Mr Erdogan wants him to do," he said.