Turkey’s ruling AKP celebrates its 23rd anniversary

Duvar English

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) on Aug. 14 celebrated its 23rd anniversary.

The party was founded in 2001 under Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a number of founding members after it split from the Islamist Virtue Party with the premise of a less radical stance.

The AKP became the leading party in all but the 2024 local elections in this period.

In a celebration event, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan thanked all the party members, voters, and the Turkish nation “for accompanying this great journey of thousands of years of love.”

“AK Party was founded 23 years ago by our nation as the hope of the nation. 23 years ago, we instilled self-confidence in Turkey, which was crushed under the weight of problems. With our conservative democratic identity, we promised to solve chronic problems by remaining loyal to the soul root of our nation. We received tremendous favor from all segments of society,” he said.

Erdoğan said they “fought against many threats” during this time.

The party faced a closure case in 2008 over “violating the principle of separation of religion and state in Turkey.” The Constitutional Court did not close the party, but its treasury aid was cut by half.

Meanwhile, in 2013, Gezi Park protests initially began in Istanbul as a reaction to renovation plans of the ruling AKP with environmental concerns, which aimed to construct a replica Ottoman barracks on the city's few remaining green spots. The protests later grew into nationwide protests and spread to other cities, becoming the largest anti-governmental protests in the republic’s history.

The government also faced a coup attempt in 2016, widely believed to have been orchestrated by U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fethullah Gülen’s network, an ally-turned-foe of the AKP.

After the failed coup attempt, the AKP introduced and established the presidential system with the help of the alliance with the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Erdoğan also argued that their years “have been recorded as the brightest period in the history of the Republic.”

“(With the presidential regime), we have made a structure in which no one is marginalized and all kinds of thoughts can be expressed as long as they do not glorify terrorism and violence,” he further claimed.

He also signaled a change within the party, perhaps due to the local election defeat. “It is unthinkable for the AK Party to miss the spirit of the new era. We make our self-criticism with sincerity, and if we have shortcomings, we boldly address them. If anyone feels tired, we ask them to step aside.”

Meanwhile, 13 district mayors and two lawmakers joined the AKP during the event. Seven of the mayors were from AKP's rival, Islamist New Welfare Party (YRP). The lawmakers, Seyithan İzsiz and Ersagun Yücel, recently resigned from the opposition nationalist İYİ (Good) Party.