Congress uncertainty in the AKP: Staffing is being completely overhauled!

The AKP is entering its 8th Ordinary Congress, to be held at the Ankara Arena Sports Hall on February 23, with a busy agenda.

Following the losses it experienced in the March 31 local elections, the party management, which aims to reorganize the organization, is preparing for critical changes.

President and AKP Chairman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will shape the list for the 76-member Central Decision and Administrative Board (MKYK), the party's main decision-making body, and the 27-member Central Executive Board (MYK) to be determined from it, during a week he will spend mostly in Istanbul before the congress.

At the congress, internal party restructuring will be at the forefront rather than combating the economic crisis.

MAJOR CHANGE IN THE ORGANIZATION

In the provincial and district congresses that began on October 12, 2024, 75 percent of provincial chairmen and 55 percent of district chairmen were replaced with the personal participation of Erdoğan.

In this process, where no one in the party is sure of their seat, it is rumored that names such as Berat Albayrak, Süleyman Soylu, and Mehmet Özhaseki are active in the lobbies to return to the spotlight.

While major changes in the MKYK and MYK are considered certain, it is stated that Promotion and Media Head Hamza Dağ, Local Governments Head Yusuf Ziya Yılmaz, Election Affairs Head Ali İhsan Yavuz, Social Policies Head Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, Public Relations Head Belgin Uygur, and Environment and Urbanization Head Çiğdem Karaaslan may hand over their seats to new names.

On the other hand, party lobbies are pointing to the period after June for a cabinet reshuffle.