Former Turkish PM says alliance politics harmed Erdogan's AK Party

Former Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Monday the alliance of President Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party with nationalists had harmed the AKP, in a statement criticising the party's policies after local election's last month. Davutoglu, a high profile figure in the party, was prime minister between 2014 and 2016 before falling out with Erdogan.

The AK Party lost control of the capital Ankara and the country's largest city Istanbul in the elections on March 31. "The election results show that alliance politics have caused harm to our party, both in terms of voter levels and the party's identity," Davutoglu said in a written statement.

(Reporting by Orhan Coskun; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Dominic Evans)