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Turkey's transport minister elected as head of ruling AK Party at congress

Binali Yildirim, 60, won all the votes from the 1,405 delegates at an extraordinary party congress

Reuters May 22, 2016 Less than a minute read

turkey 039 s minister of transport maritime and communication and new chairman candidate for ruling ak party binali yildirim r and his wife semiha yildirim l greet supporters as they arrive for the second extraordinary congress of the ak party at the ankara arena in ankara on may 22 2016 photo reuters

Turkey's Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication and new chairman candidate for ruling AK Party Binali Yildirim (R) and his wife Semiha Yildirim (L) greet supporters as they arrive for the second extraordinary congress of the AK Party at the Ankara Arena in Ankara, on May 22, 2016. PHOTO: REUTERS

ANKARA: Turkish Transport Minister Binali Yildirim was unanimously elected on Sunday as the new leader of the ruling AK Party and therefore the prime minister, allowing President Tayyip Erdogan to cement his grip on government as he seeks greater powers.

One of the co-founders of the AK Party along with Erdogan, Yildirim, 60, won all the votes from the 1,405 delegates at an extraordinary party congress.

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Yildirim was the sole candidate at the congress, which was announced after Ahmet Davutoglu said earlier this month he was stepping down following an increasingly public rift with Erdogan.