Former Erdogan ally to form rival party before year-end: paper

Former Turkish deputy prime minister Ali Babacan will form a new political party before the end of the year to challenge President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, announcing his intentions in a newspaper interview published on Tuesday.

Babacan resigned from the AK Party in July, citing "deep differences". He had been a founding member of the AK Party and served as an economy and foreign minister during its first years in power before becoming deputy prime minister, a role he held from 2009 to 2015.

Babacan told the Karar newspaper that he was still working to find like-minded individuals to forge a team to lead the new party.

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"This will take some time," he told the newspaper. "We want the party to be formed before 2020. The quality is very important here,"

Erdogan's AK Party suffered a stinging electoral defeat in Istanbul mayoral elections in June, and a party led by Babacan could further erode Erdogan's support base.