The mayor of Turkey’s capital city, Ibrahim Melih Gokcek, has announced he will submit his resignation on Saturday.

Ibrahim Melih Gokcek had won five consecutive elections to serve the Turkish capital as mayor for a period of 23 years. (AA)

Ankara’s long-serving mayor Ibrahim Melih Gokcek has declared his intention to resign from his post at the end of this week, marking the end to his 23 years in office.

His resignation was announced after he met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the presidential complex on Monday.

“God willing, I will gather the Ankara Municipal Council for an emergency meeting on Saturday and bid farewell to our council members, submit my resignation," Gokcek tweeted after the meeting.

Following his meeting with Gokcek, Erdogan stressed his confidence in Turkey’s youth, a theme he has recently been pushing in moves to freshen the ranks of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party.

"In due course our young people will take over the significant duties of this nation," the Turkish president wrote on his Twitter account.

What matters is the "love of service," not love of one’s post, Erdogan added.

Four other mayors from the ruling party have already stepped down in recent weeks, including Istanbul's Mayor Kadir Topbas.

“Three mayors from our party have handed in their resignations so far, and there are three more. I believe they will hand theirs in as soon as possible,” Erdogan told a news conference in Ankara last week before Gokcek and one other mayor resigned.

Source: TRTWorld and agencies