Turkish ruling party set to hold extraordinary congress

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is set to hold an extraordinary congress a day between May 21 - June 6 which Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu is not planning to run for the leadership, senior party officials said following a critical meeting between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Davutoğlu.

The sources said that the two names agreed that Davutoğlu will not be a candidate again for the next term during the 1.5 hour-long meeting.

The two names agreed on the importance of the action instead of the leader, according to the anonymous sources speaking to Turkish Yeni Şafak daily newspaper.

The prime minister will hold a news conference on Thursday in where he is to announce the date for the congress following a gathering of the party's central executive committee (MYK).

One party official also said the congress would be held as soon as May 21 and no later than June 6, the first day of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.