(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) Outgoing Prime MinisterAhmet Davutoluhas urged his Justice and Development Party (AKP) to avoid political corruption during a farewell address at an extraordinary party convention, reiterating that he did not want to resign but was doing so for the party’s unity.
“Today our party came to another crossroad. Going to this extraordinary convention after a successful election was not something I had demanded. I am also aware of the questions it has created in your conscious,” Davutolu said in a highly emotional speech on May 22. “We may bid farewell to positions and seats… but we will never bid farewell to our main cause.”
Davutolu said his only motivation in stepping down was his concern for the unity of the AKP. “The reason why I have decided to hold this convention and hand over the leadership was my concern that the AK Party movement would suffer [otherwise]. There is nothing more important than the AK Party and its movement.”
Nobody is irreplaceable, but the AKP movement has irreplaceable values, Davutolu said, underlining that the party had never been a political party of a certain group or class. The AKP has six irreplaceable values: “protection of human dignity; following people’s conscious; shared wisdom; justice; the national will and compassion,” he said.
A pro-freedom and democratic constitution was one of the most important priorities of the new era, he said, while avoiding mention of a presidential system, the imposition of which is a priority for President Recep Tayyip Erdoan.
Davutolu also encouraged his AKP colleagues to stay loyal to the 24 million voters who voted for them at the last elections. “I have never chased after temporary virtues but permanent ones.”