AKP holds congress, unveils new leadership

ANKARA

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has held its fourth extraordinary congress in the capital Ankara, re-electing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as the sole candidate for party leadership and revealing a revamped central decision-making body (MKYK).

During the congress on Oct. 7, Erdoğan emphasized a significant shift in the party's management, pledging to continue embracing the "spirit of change."

The president expressed the party's commitment to a new era, stating, "At this congress, you will see a new change in the AK Party. We will experience the same excitement again with MKYK and our headquarters organs in today's congress, which has a wide distribution and where the structure of the parliament and the party structure are very different."

The AKP made substantial alterations to its central decision-making and executive board, with 49 members not retaining their positions, while 26 incumbents remained. Notably absent from the new management list were figures such as Binali Yıldırım, Nurettin Canikli, Jülide Sarıeroğlu and Mehmet Ali Zengin.

New additions to the party management included Mustafa Elitaş, Mahir Ünal, Ahmet Mücahit Arınç and Nihat Zeybekçi, among others. The party's central executive board, however, witnessed few changes.

Following Numan Kurtulmuş's appointment as the parliament speaker, Efkan Ala assumed the role of deputy chairman of the party. Mustafa Elitaş was appointed to the second deputy chairman seat previously held by Binali Yıldırım.

AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik announced the new central executive board, highlighting its emphasis on increased female participation and sociological diversity. "The common feature of our central executive boards is that they have strong representation in terms of women's stronger participation in politics and that they hold the AK Party's congress covering all sociological segments," Çelik stated.

The revamped central executive board includes key figures such as Hayati Yazıcı (responsible for political and legal affairs), Erkan Kandemir (responsible for party organization), Ali İhsan Yavuz (responsible for election activities), Fatih Şahin (general secretary), Zafer Sarıkaya (responsible for foreign relations) and Hamza Dağ (responsible for promotion and media).

Additional appointments encompass Belgin Uygur (responsible for public relations), Mustafa Şen (responsible for R&D and education), Vedat Demiröz (responsible for financial and administrative affairs), Çiğdem Karaaslan (responsible for the surrounding city and culture), Ömer İleri (responsible for information and communication technologies) and Yusuf Ziya Yılmaz (responsible for local governments).