The resignation of Ahmet Davutoglu from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, the backgrounds and aftermaths

At a news conference on Friday, former Turkish prime minister and one of the founding pillar of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Ahmet Davutoglu, announced his resignation from the party he co-founded many years ago.

“The date of my transfer to a disciplinary committee is the date when the AKP abandoned its basic principles”, Davutoglu said.

The Turkish Foreign Minister and former Prime Minister in his speech to the party’s decision, to refer him to a disciplinary committee, and demanding his final dismissal from the party, after he issued a series of criticism of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The turning point in Davutoglu’s relationship with Erdogan was when he left the premiership in 2016, nearly two years after he took office, while pledging he would not criticize Erdogan publicly, but last April saw a turning point.

Davutoglu broke his silence, harshly criticized Erdogan and his party, saying they had deviated from their goals after canceling the results of Istanbul’s municipal elections in late March, in which the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) candidate Akram Imamoglu won.

Davutoglu also strongly criticized the August 19 decision to sack the mayors of three eastern cities of Diyarbakir, Mardin and Van, all members of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (PDP), on charges of association with Kurdish activists.

But the drop between the two men appeared to have been Davutoglu’s talk of what is called “books of terrorism” a few days ago, in response to Erdogan’s accusation of “treason” and “working with foreign powers”.

“Many books of terrorism, if opened, won’t be able for him (Erdogan) to look at people’s faces”, Davutoglu told reporters, adding “I tell you the truth”.

He added that the period from June 1 to November 1, 2015, is the most dangerous and difficult political periods in the history of Turkey.

The pro-Kurdish Democratic People’s Party (PYD) has suffered from terrorist attacks, and says the party’s 370 offices have been burned and blown up.

But the most serious attacks of this period, the terrorist bombings, which began in Diyarbakir first and then spread to Ankara and Istanbul, and killed in the bombing in Istanbul more than 100 people.

It seems that Davutoglu’s talk of “books of terrorism” has greatly disturbed Erdogan and hastened to besiege him in the party, which Davutoglu has theoretically belonged to in recent years.

The outgoing AK Party leader didn’t reveal much detail about the “books of terrorism” but if some were revealed, it would be a major blow to Erdogan.

The impact of the resignation is that Ahmet Davutoglu’s move to resign from the ruling party, days after former Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, one of the party’s founders, announced that he would form a new political party before the end of this year.

Babacan confirms reports that he intends to launch a political party, after he resigned from the Justice and Development last July.

It seems that the former Turkish prime minister, wants to stay away from the sunken Erdogan boat, with reports of his intention to launch a new political party to compete in Turkish politics.

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its leader Erdogan are likely to face two parties in the coming period, led by two veteran politicians who have emerged from the ruling party’s womb.

Turkish opposition media said one million AKP members had withdrawn their membership from the ruling party in the past year.

Political analyst Mustapha Azogan said Erdogan’s party was swinging critically, meaning it could lose the next election by just 1 percent, whether in presidential or other elections.

Ozgan said he expected the party to lose in the next election by more than one percent, because the party is bleeding.

According to observers and familiar with Turkish affairs, Erdogan’s fears about Ali Babacan more than his fears of Akram Imamoglu, because Babacan emerged from the ruling Justice and Development Party, who is a specialist and successful in the economy, and that if Babacan presented economic programs in the Turkish elections convince Turkish voters, he may succeed in gaining a good share in the elections, which may lead him in the next stage to the dispute Erdogan rule and may be the next president of the Republic.