Former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu called on ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) management to reassess its values after a stunning defeat in a mayoral election İstanbul, the Diken news website reported.
Speaking at a political convention in southeastern Elazığ province, Davutoğlu said his former party’s abandonment of its founding principles caused its loss in the İstanbul election by some 800,000 votes (9 percent).
The AKP has lost elections in İstanbul twice, once in the regular local elections on March 31 and once in a repeat election on June 23.
He also recalled that the AKP had garnered some 49.5 percent of the vote in a general election in November 2015 but said the party’s support had now plunged to less than 34 percent.
Without mentioning names, Davutoğlu also criticized the appointment of Berat Albayrak, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law, as finance minister.
“Affairs of state should be separated from the family,” he said.
Finally he criticized the executive presidential system, which was adopted in a narrowly backed referendum in 2017.
The former prime minister started criticizing his old party before the İstanbul election, signaling his intent to establish a new party.