President Erdoan puts his st on AKP congress


(MENAFN- The Journal Of Turkish Weekly) For the first time since it’s founding in 2001 the Justice and Development Party (AKP) held its regular congress without the presence of its founding leader President Recep Tayyip Erdoan but he made his clout felt with loyal names elected to the party’s decision-making body overshadowing Prime Minister Ahmet Davutolu’s preferences after the latter’s reelection as AKP leader.

The fifth regular congress held on Sept. 12 came around one year after Davutolu was elected as party leader at an extraordinary congress held in August 2014 following Erdoan’s election as president in a popular vote.

It also came just 49 days before the snap election due on Nov. 1 after parties failed to form a coalition after the June 7 general election.

A total of 1445 AKP delegates gathered in the early morning of Sept. 12 at the Arena Sports Complex to elect their leader and members of the party’s highest decision-making body the Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK).

The eventual composition of the 50-seat MKYK was a crystal-clear reflection of Erdoan’s will to keep the party under his control. Figures close to Davutolu as well as names known to have been close to former President Abdullah Gül also a founder of the party couldn’t find a place on the board as 31 veterans who had been on the board earlier were eliminated.

The board will hold its first meeting late on Sept. 14. AKP Istanbul deputy Berat Albayrak Erdoan’s son-in-law; former Deputy Prime Minister and Justice Minister Bekir Bozda; former Transportation Minister Binali Yldrm one of Erdoan’s closest aides who tested the waters of challenging Davutolu for leadership shortly before the congress; and Deputy Prime Minister Yalçn Akdoan were elected to the board.

Nonetheless personalities dubbed doyens of the party - former Deputy Prime Ministers Bülent Arnç and Ali Babacan; former Deputy Prime Minister and party deputy chair and Spokesperson Beir Atalay; and former Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin were among those who were not on the candidate list for the MKYK.

Close aides of Davutolu such as Taha Özhan Adnan Boynukara and Ertan Aydn were not nominated for the board either.

‘Rules of fraternity’

The congress opened with the display of two separate videos one focusing on the AKP’s history and the other one showing Erdoan’s political career. With shouts of “Recep Tayyip Erdoan” being the most popular slogan in the hall the videos were followed by another which reviewed the party over the last year under Davutolu’s leadership.

Yet the video on Davutolu’s leadership was also marked by a quote from Erdoan with a subtitle reading “rules of fraternity.”

Erdoan’s hope is the AKP can win enough votes to change the constitution and create a more powerful presidency for him. Erdoan had surrendered the prime minister’s position he had used to develop a strong grip on the country over 10 years and moved to the presidency confident he could transform it from a largely symbolic post to a powerful executive position. In this he seems - for now - to have miscalculated.

“Some of Erdoan’s more drastic authoritarian moves are likely the result of political survival instincts” Erik Meyersson an assistant professor at the Stockholm School of Economics told Reuters.

“In practice this would mean retaining control over the leadership of the party - somewhat peculiar given that he’s not the official head of the party anymore - and appointing lieutenants [who are] personally loyal to himself” he said.

One senior AKP official said this would annoy some factions but that there was little they could do about it.

“Nobody can risk a massive breakup and everyone is aware of this sensitivity” the official told Reuters.


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