Ankara-Sana
Former members of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have confirmed growing divisions within the party after losing 840,000 members last year, exacerbating the problems it faces after the resignation of two founding members to form two rival parties.
Three former senior members of the party were quoted by Reuters as saying that the AKP would continue to lose members because it had lost contact with its grassroots and the principles on which it was founded.
A former senior official in the party, who asked not to be named, said that "daily, colleagues choose roles who have taken part in the party since the first day, a new way", pointing out that the party members are no longer witnessing the consultation they are used to while many of them want a new start with the minister's party. Former economy Ali Babacan or former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.
The Financial Times confirmed yesterday that Erdogan's repressive policies towards his opponents, economic mismanagement and ignoring the rule of law forced his old friends and allies away from him, disowned his policies and formed parties against his ruling party.
Erdogan has already seen a series of setbacks this year, including an economic recession that eroded support for the ruling party and the defeat of its candidates in the municipal elections in Ankara and Istanbul in June, prompting Ali Babacan to resign from the party and call for a "new vision" to run the country. At one time Erdogan's closest ally two weeks ago, he said the party had lost its ability to solve the country's problems.