ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s powerful intelligence chief, the man leading peace negotiations with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has resigned in order to run for parliament, seen as a step toward him becoming foreign minister.
The resignation of Hakan Fidan as head of the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) has been accepted by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, the official Anatolia news agency reported.
The move comes at a time when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been consolidating power, criticized by opponents who warn that the country is moving toward a concentration of power in the presidency.
Turkish media have speculated for days that Fidan, who has emerged as one of the most powerful figures in the country under Erdogan, is headed toward becoming the next foreign minister.
Fidan, who is rarely seen in public, has been leading peace talks between Ankara and the PKK’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
Meanwhile, the Hurriyet daily reported this month that Erdogan’s daughter, Sumeyye, will also run in the summer’s legislative polls.
The paper said that Finance Ministry Undersecretary Naci Agbal and Turkish Airlines executive Hamdi Topcu are also expected to run for the legislature, where the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) needs a a majority in order to consolidate power.
The party won about 50 percent of the votes in the 2011 elections for the Grand National Assembly, falling short of the 330 seats needed for a majority in the 550-seat legislature.
The party, which has been accused of pursuing an anti-secular agenda by the opposition, is clearly aiming for a two-thirds majority in the June elections to do away with opposition obstruction to its controversial agenda, which include measures such as reversing a ban on women wearing headscarves in universities.
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