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Turkish Interior Minister Resigns in Surprise Move | ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive 2005 -2017
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Turkey’s Interior Minister Efkan Ala (R) attends a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara July 22, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas


Ankara-After a Turkish cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Interior Minister Efkan Ala had stepped down and would be replaced by Suleyman Soylu, the current labor and social security minister.

Ala stated that he will resume his political mission as a parliamentarian.

Ala previously acted as undersecretary to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, when the president was prime minister in the beginning of 2014. He also became a cabinet minister in the governments of Ahmet Davutoglu and Yildirim.

Turkish analysts commented on this sudden move in the government, saying that President Erdogan might have some reservations on the performance of the agencies liked to the Ministry of Interior especially following the failed coup, not to mention the way it confronted Fethullah Gulen’s group.

Erdogan has accused Gulen of plotting for the coup since the investigations on corruption and bribery in Turkey were conducted on 17 and 25 December 2013.