The 5th Justice and Development Party Ordinary Congress was a party convention of the governing Turkish Justice and Development Party (AK Party) that took place on 12 September 2015. It was held six weeks before Turkey voted in a snap general election in November 2015. The agenda included motions to alter the party's by-laws to lift the three-term limit for the party's MPs who had been elected for a third time in the June 2015 general election, as well as the establishment of a 'Founding Principles Board'.

The party leader and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu declared his candidacy for re-election to the party leadership, with most commentators speculating that he would almost certainly be the only candidate. However, a few days before the Congress, it emerged that Binali Yıldırım, a former Transport Minister and Special Advisor to the President of Turkey, had explored a possible run for the party leadership. It was rumoured that Yıldırım had been asked to run by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan due to a breakdown in relations with Davutoğlu. Yıldırım stated that had a '50% chance' of running. In the event that he did declare his candidacy, the congress would be the first ever to hold a leadership election with more than one candidate. However, after a disagreement over the party's provisional Central Executive Board candidates between Erdoğan and Davutoğlu was solved at the last minute, it was reported that Yıldırım had stopped collecting signatures for a possible leadership bid and the party's spokesperson Beşir Atalay stated that Davutoğlu would be the only candidate.

Date and venue The date of Saturday, 12 September 2015 was formally announced by the party's spokesperson Beşir Atalay on 18 August 2015. The date was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. The venue was announced as the Ankara Arena. AKP congresses have usually taken place in the Autumn, with an election in November meaning that a date in mid September was seen as the most ideal.

Agenda

Preparations Due to an outbreak of violence between the Turkish Armed Forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and recent casualties suffered by the Army, the congress took place in a subdued atmosphere with tough security measures. Over 40 thousand AKP supporters were expected to take part, though the actual figures stood at 12 thousand. The congress was attended by many of the AKP's founders, many of whom are no longer MPs due to the three-term limit barring them from standing for a fourth time in the June 2015 general election. An invitation was sent to former AKP Prime Minister and President Abdullah Gül, though he stated that he would not take part. Observers from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which has been accused of supporting the PKK, were not invited, while it was rumoured that the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) would not send any observers either. Over 20 newspapers and media channels were banned from observing the congress.

By-law changes Two proposed changes to the party's by-laws were brought before the congress. This included the lifting of the three-term limit on parliamentary candidacies for MPs who would otherwise have not been able to contest the November 2015 general election. The reasoning was that due to the short tenure of the 25th Parliament (June–November 2015), it should not be counted as a proper term towards an MP's three term allowance. As such, MPs who were elected for a third term in June 2015 would still remain on the November 2015 party lists. The by-laws also included a formation of a Founding Principles Board.http://www.turkiyegazetesi.com.tr/fotogaleri/ak_parti_kongresinde_surpriz-3508.aspx?O=4

Leadership election

Candidates Ahmet Davutoğlu, the incumbent party leader and Prime Minister of Turkey ( contesting). Binali Yıldırım, Special advisor to the President of Turkey and former Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication ( withdrew).

Ahmet Davutoğlu was expected to be the only candidate for the leadership, with all of the party's ordinary and extraordinary congresses having taken place with only a single leadership candidate. However, the AKP's poor performance at the June 2015 general election and signs of disagreement between Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised the prospect of Binali Yıldırım running against Davutoğlu. Yıldırım confirmed speculation that he was exploring a possible run, collecting signatures from supportive delegates. He claimed that there was a 50% chance of him running. The AKP's deputy leader Numan Kurtulmuş was unable to confirm that there was only one candidate when asked during an interview, with many commentators suggesting that Yıldırım was supported and encouraged to run by Erdoğan, to which Yıldırım serves as a special advisor.

After a disagreement over the party's provisional Central Executive Board candidates between Erdoğan and Davutoğlu was solved at the last minute, it was reported that Yıldırım had stopped collecting signatures for a possible leadership bid and the party's spokesperson Beşir Atalay stated that Davutoğlu would be the only candidate.

During the congress, only Davutoğlu declared his candidacy for the leadership.

Results CandidateVotesPercentage Ahmet Davutoğlu1,353100.07 –1,360100.0 1,445 94.1Source: Hürriyet

Central Decision Executive Board election Although there was a possibility of two rival Central Decision Executive Board (MKYK) candidate lists contesting the election, a last minute resolution between Davutoğlu and Erdoğan meant that only one MKYK candidate list stood for election. The list of the MKYK candidates and the votes they received are as follows. CandidateVotes PercentageResult Metin Doğan1,292 99.77 Elected Zeki Aygün1,292 99.77 Elected Mehmet Özhaseki1,291 99.69 Elected Mehmet Erdem1,290 99.61 Elected Recep Akdağ1,290 99.61 Elected Naci Ağbal1,289 99.54 Elected Galip Ensarioğlu1,288 99.46 Elected Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu1,288 99.46 Elected Mehmet Babaoğlu1,287 99.38 Elected Ravza Kavakçı Kan1,286 99.31 Elected Selçuk Özdağ1,286 99.31 Elected Nihat Zeybekci1,285 99.23 Elected Selçuk Öztürk1,285 99.23 Elected Vedat Demiröz1,285 99.23 Elected Yaşar Karayel1,285 99.23 Elected Mehmet Ali Şahin1,284 99.15 Elected Edibe Sözen1,283 99.07 Elected Fatih Şahin1,282 99.00 Elected Mehmet Müezzinoğlu1,282 99.00 Elected Numan Kurtulmuş1,282 99.00 Elected Faruk Çelik1,281 99.00 Elected Ayhan Sefer Üstün1,280 98.84 Elected Abdülhamit Gül1,279 98.76 Elected Ali Aydınoğlu1,279 98.76 Elected Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya1,279 98.76 Elected Mehmet Muş1,278 98.69 Elected Hayati Yazıcı1,277 98.61 Elected Mehmet Doğan Kubat1,277 98.61 Elected Ayşenur Bahçekapılı1,276 98.53 Elected Mustafa Ataş1,276 98.53 Elected Burhan Kuzu1,275 98.46 Elected Bekir Bozdağ1,274 98.38 Elected Asuman Erdoğan1,270 98.07 Elected Mehmet Mehdi Eker1,270 98.07 Elected Aziz Babuşçu1,269 97.99 Elected Efkan Ala1,267 97.84 Elected Cemil Çiçek1,265 97.68 Elected Çiğdem Karaaslan1,265 97.68 Elected Ömer Çelik1,265 97.68 Elected Mustafa Şentop1,264 97.61 Elected Öznur Çalık1,263 97.53 Elected Alev Dedegil1,261 97.37 Elected Hamza Dağ1,261 97.37 Elected Nurettin Canikli1,261 97.37 Elected Yalçın Akdoğan1,261 97.37 Elected Nükhet Hotar1,260 97.30 Elected Binali Yıldırım1,259 97.22 Elected Berat Albayrak1,257 97.07 Elected Bülent Gedikli1,255 96.91 Elected Süleyman Soylu 1,231 95.06 Elected1,295 100.00 50 elected 1,445 89.61Source: HaberTürk

See also 2014 Justice and Development Party Extraordinary Congress

References

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