Erdoğan renews AKP’s A-team with greater youth presence

ANKARA

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has renewed nearly half of the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) executive management to include members of the youth organizations and representatives from business circles during a congress in which he was re-elected as chairman.  

Nineteen members of the 50-seat Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) were changed through the AKP’s extraordinary convention on May 22. Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, who handed over the party leadership to Erdoğan, joined the MKYK as “acting chairman” through a change to the AKP’s internal regulation.  

Two ministers, Deputy Prime Minister Veysi Kaynak and Labor Minister Mehmet Müezzinoğlu, were removed from the MKYK, along with party spokesperson Yasin Aktay, Galip Ensarioğlu and Şaban Dişli, whose brother, former Gen. Metin Dişli, was imprisoned on the grounds that he took part in the July 2016 coup attempt. 
Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu, his predecessor, Efkan Ala, and former Culture and Tourism Minister Mahir Ünal joined the MKYK as well. 


Youth organizations 

AKP Youth Branches Organization head İsa Sinan Göktaş, Marmara University Youth Council Deputy Chair Rumeysa Kadak and Youth KADEM member Yasemin Atasever were all elected as members of the AKP’s new MKYK.

Ethem Sancak, the owner of pro-government media outlets daily Star and ATV TV channel, as well as Star writer Markar Esayan were also elected. 

Erdoğan’s son-in-law, Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli and Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ protected their positions in the MKYK. 

The full list of the new MKYK is as follows:

Binali Yıldırım, Abdülhamit Gül, Ahmet Sorgun, Ali Aydınlıoğlu, Asuman Erdoğan, Bekir Bozdağ, Berat Albayrak, Burhan Kuzu, Bülent Karakuş, Cahit Özkan, Cevdet Yılmaz, Çiğdem Karaaslan, Efkan Ala, Erol Kaya, Ethem Sancak, Fatih Şahin, Fevzi Şanverdi, Hacı Ahmet Özdemir, Hamza Dağ, Harun Karacan, H. Kübra Öztürk, Hayati Yazıcı, İbrahim Halil Yıldız, İsa Sinan Göktaş, E. Emrah Karayel, Jülide Sarıeloğlu, Mahir Ünal, Markar Esayan, Mehmet Emin Yılmaz, Mehmet Mehdi Eker, Mehmet Muş, Murat Baybatur, Mustafa Ataş, Mustafa Köse, Mustafa Savaş, Mustafa Şentop, Mustafa Yel, Nurettin Canikli, Öznur Çalık, Ravza Kavakçı Kan, Recep Uncuoğlu, Rumeysa Kadak, Süleyman Soylu, Tamer Dağlı, Vedat Demiröz, Yasemin Atasever, Zeki Aygün, Zelkif Kazdal, Zeyid Aslan and Zeynep Alkış.