Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday announced he would not be seeking a new mandate as ruling party chief at a extraordinary party congress on May 22, meaning he will step down as prime minister.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu on Thursday announced he would not be seeking a new mandate as ruling party chief at a extraordinary party congress on May 22, meaning he will step down as prime minister.

"I declare that we will hold our congress on May 22," Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara after a meeting of the central committee of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), adding: "I don't think I will be a candidate in the next congress in the current circumstances." According to the AKP's convention, the party chief and premier are always the same person.

Davutoglu also vowed that he would never utter a "single word" of criticism against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despite saying he would step down from his post.

"No one heard or will ever hear a single word from my mouth, from my tongue or my mind against our president," Davutoglu told reporters in Ankara after announcing his decision.