5th Justice and Development Party Ordinary Congress

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'.

2015 Justice and Development Party leadership election

← 2014 12 September 2015 2016 →
Registered1,445 delegates
Turnout94.1%
 
Candidate Ahmet Davutoğlu
Party AK Party
Constituency Konya
Delegate vote 1,353
Percentage 100%

Leader before election

Ahmet Davutoğlu
AK Party

Elected Leader

Ahmet Davutoğlu
AK Party

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.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3][4]

Date and venue

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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.[5]

Agenda

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Preparations

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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.[6] 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.[7]

By-law changes

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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.[8]

Leadership election

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Candidates

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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.[9]

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.[3][4]

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

Results

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Candidate Votes Percentage
Ahmet Davutoğlu 1,353 100.0
Invalid/blank votes
7
Total
1,360 100.0
Number of delegates/turnout
1,445 94.1
Source: Hürriyet

Central Decision Executive Board election

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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.[10] The list of the MKYK candidates and the votes they received are as follows.[11]

Candidate Votes Percentage Result
Metin Doğan 1,292
99.77  Y Elected
Zeki Aygün 1,292
99.77  Y Elected
Mehmet Özhaseki 1,291
99.69  Y Elected
Mehmet Erdem 1,290
99.61  Y Elected
Recep Akdağ 1,290
99.61  Y Elected
Naci Ağbal 1,289
99.54  Y Elected
Galip Ensarioğlu 1,288
99.46  Y Elected
Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu 1,288
99.46  Y Elected
Mehmet Babaoğlu 1,287
99.38  Y Elected
Ravza Kavakçı Kan 1,286
99.31  Y Elected
Selçuk Özdağ 1,286
99.31  Y Elected
Nihat Zeybekci 1,285
99.23  Y Elected
Selçuk Öztürk 1,285
99.23  Y Elected
Vedat Demiröz 1,285
99.23  Y Elected
Yaşar Karayel 1,285
99.23  Y Elected
Mehmet Ali Şahin 1,284
99.15  Y Elected
Edibe Sözen 1,283
99.07  Y Elected
Fatih Şahin 1,282
99.00  Y Elected
Mehmet Müezzinoğlu 1,282
99.00  Y Elected
Numan Kurtulmuş 1,282
99.00  Y Elected
Faruk Çelik 1,281
99.00  Y Elected
Ayhan Sefer Üstün 1,280
98.84  Y Elected
Abdülhamit Gül 1,279
98.76  Y Elected
Ali Aydınoğlu 1,279
98.76  Y Elected
Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya 1,279
98.76  Y Elected
Mehmet Muş 1,278
98.69  Y Elected
Hayati Yazıcı 1,277
98.61  Y Elected
Mehmet Doğan Kubat 1,277
98.61  Y Elected
Ayşenur Bahçekapılı 1,276
98.53  Y Elected
Mustafa Ataş 1,276
98.53  Y Elected
Burhan Kuzu 1,275
98.46  Y Elected
Bekir Bozdağ 1,274
98.38  Y Elected
Asuman Erdoğan 1,270
98.07  Y Elected
Mehmet Mehdi Eker 1,270
98.07  Y Elected
Aziz Babuşçu 1,269
97.99  Y Elected
Efkan Ala 1,267
97.84  Y Elected
Cemil Çiçek 1,265
97.68  Y Elected
Çiğdem Karaaslan 1,265
97.68  Y Elected
Ömer Çelik 1,265
97.68  Y Elected
Mustafa Şentop 1,264
97.61  Y Elected
Öznur Çalık 1,263
97.53  Y Elected
Alev Dedegil 1,261
97.37  Y Elected
Hamza Dağ 1,261
97.37  Y Elected
Nurettin Canikli 1,261
97.37  Y Elected
Yalçın Akdoğan 1,261
97.37  Y Elected
Nükhet Hotar 1,260
97.30  Y Elected
Binali Yıldırım 1,259
97.22  Y Elected
Berat Albayrak 1,257
97.07  Y Elected
Bülent Gedikli 1,255
96.91  Y Elected
Süleyman Soylu 1,231
95.06  Y Elected
Total valid
1,295 100.00 50 elected
Number of delegates/turnout
1,445 89.61
Source: HaberTürk

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Davutoğlu tek aday olacak". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  2. ^ "Öğretmen Haberleri, MEB Personelleri, MEBBİS Meb Personel - 404". www.mebpersonelleri.net. Archived from the original on 2015-09-11. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  3. ^ a b "Beşir Atalay: Tek adayımız Davutoğlu". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Davutoğlu gitti geldi". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  5. ^ "Ak Parti kongresi 12 Eylül 2015 tarihinde yapılacak - Gündem Haberleri". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  6. ^ "AK Parti'de genel başkanlık için Davutoğlu tek aday - Gündem Haberleri". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  7. ^ "AKP Kongresi'nde medyanın yarısı yok!". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  8. ^ http://www.turkiyegazetesi.com.tr/fotogaleri/ak_parti_kongresinde_surpriz-3508.aspx?O=4[permanent dead link]
  9. ^ "AKP'de kongre kazanı!". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  10. ^ "AKP'nin Yeni MKYK Listesi Erdoğan'a Yakın İsimlerden Oluşuyor". Archived from the original on 2015-09-14. Retrieved 2015-09-12.
  11. ^ "AK Parti MKYK listesi belli oldu! Bomba kulis!". Retrieved 20 May 2017.
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