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The ruling AK Party in Turkey has picked Binali Yildirim as candidate for leader, a fortnight after a reported dispute with the president prompted the prime minister to quit, the BBC reports.
Mr Yildirim, who is currently transport minister, is seen as a leading aide to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Outgoing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu had apparently objected to Mr Erdogan’s plan to beef up his own power.
The president was known to be seeking a more “closely aligned” prime minister.
And, in a speech on Thursday, Mr Yildirim made clear he would work “in total harmony” with the president and all other levels of the AKP.
Mr Yildirim, 60, will be confirmed as the new leader of the AKP at an extraordinary party congress on Sunday. The party leader automatically takes on the role of prime minister.
Although Mr Erdogan’s son-in-law, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, had been mentioned as a possible candidate, his name did not feature among the top three men in a survey of MPs and party members.
