Turkish President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Aug. 21 announced Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu as his successor. After a final, four-hour meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Central Executive Committee, Erdogan said, “Davutoglu’s determination to fight against the ‘parallel state’ has played an important role” in his selection.
Erdogan contended that US-based Sunni cleric Fethullah Gulen’s followers had established a “parallel state” in Turkey, especially in security and judiciary bodies, after the AKP came under judicial investigation in December 2013 for allegedly taking part in a massive corruption and bribery ring. “I believe we’re going to carry out this struggle together. My being president will not disrupt this struggle [against the Gulenist establishment],” Erdogan said.