Babacan, a founding member of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) who resigned from the party in July, and his group including former AKP politicians are expected to complete efforts to launch the new party on Wednesday, the source said.
The name of the new party will be the Democracy and Progress Party, whose acronym will be DEVA, meaning “remedy” in Turkish.
Widely praised for successfully steering Turkey’s economy during the first decade of AKP rule, Babacan served as chief negotiator for EU accession and is known for favouring good relations with the West.
Babacan stepped up efforts to establish a new political party after the AKP’s weak showing at March local elections when it lost five of Turkey's largest provinces.
Babacan’s party aims to target not only the AKP’s support base, but also the larger centrist constituency in Turkey, with a liberal agenda.
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