Former Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Ali Babacan has warned about the dangers of 'one man rule' and hopes to establish a political party by the end of this year in order to challenge the ruling Justice and Development party.

Babacan left the Justice and Development Party and stated that he had 'deep disagreements'. He held the posts of economy minister and foreign minister before becoming the country’s Deputy Prime Minister and serving his term between 2009 and 2015.

“We see that Turkey has entered a dark tunnel, and the country’s problems are increasing day after day. Therefore, we have made efforts to establish a new political party,” Babacan said in an interview with HaberTurk. Babacan avoided directly slamming Erdogan to a certain extent, but declared that “one man rule” has caused harm to the country.

Turkey’s next elections will take place in 2023.