Turkey: AK Party's new chairman to form government

ANKARA

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Sunday asked the new leader of the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party to form the country's 65th government, announced the Presidency.

The announcement came after a meeting between Erdogan and Binali Yildirim, who succeeded Ahmet Davutoglu as AK Party leader in an extraordinary congress in the capital Ankara on Sunday.

"President Erdogan has tasked Binali Yildirim to form the 65th government at the reception that took place at the presidential complex," the Presidency said in a statement posted on its website.

Earlier, Erdogan accepted the resignation of Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and his cabinet. However, he requested that Davutoglu and the cabinet members stay at their posts until the new government is formed.

Yildirim, 60, who was the sole candidate to run for the party’s leadership, garnered 1,405 out of 1,411 votes in the election held at the at the Arena Sports Hall Sunday in Ankara. Out of the 1,411 votes, six were declared invalid.

Davutoglu had served as foreign minister from 2009 to August 2014, when he was elected chairman of the party after then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was elected president.

Davutoglu became the second AK Party chairman after 13 years with Erdogan as the leader.

On May 5, Davutoglu announced that he would not stand again for the AK Party chairmanship.