In what could be seen as a major move to curb authorities of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Chairman Ahmet Davutoğlu, the party’s executive board has taken back the chairman’s key authorities.
Davutoğlu, who had the authority to appoint provincial and district chairmen of AK Party’s local branches, will no more be able appoint the key local officials after a decision of the Central Decision and Administration Board (MKYK) on Saturday.
A proposal on the transfer of Davutoğlu’s key authority was approved after 48 of the 51 members of the board voted in favor of it.
The authority to appoint the local heads of the party originally belongs to the board according to the party’s bylaws, but it was granted to then-AK Party leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in 2002.
President Erdoğan is still known to be influential on the party despite leaving his post as the party chairman in 2014 after being elected as the president. There have been claims that Davutoğlu was resisting to some recommendations by Erdoğan while shaping the party’s key posts.
