Erdoğan renews ruling AKP’s A-team

President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made changes to the party's Central Executive Board (MYK), referred to as the “A-team.” The changes were announced following the party's seventh ordinary congress, which saw Erdoğan being re-elected as the AKP chair.

Wednesday March 24 2021 10:01 pm

Erdoğan arrives to chair his ruling AKP Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) meeting in Ankara on March 24.

Duvar English

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has renewed his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)'s top executive brass following the party's seventh ordinary congress.

Erdoğan elected 27 members of the Central Executive Board (MYK), with 10 changes made to the body.

The new MYK members were announced by AKP spokesperson Ömer Çelik during a press conference on March 24.

Along with Numan Kurtulmuş, Erdoğan appointed former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, who ran as the party’s candidate for mayor in Istanbul, as his deputy chair.

Çelik was re-elected as the party’s spokesman, while Fatih Şahin will continue to serve as the secretary-general. Hayati Yazıcı maintained his status as the director for the party’s political and legal affairs.

Özlem Zengin, Ömer İleri and Mustafa Şen have joined the MYK as the new members. Dağ will be responsible for running the media and publicity affairs of the party, while İleri will responsible for information technologies affairs and Şen will head research and development affairs.

Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya, Ahmet Büyükgümüş, Lütfiye Selva Çam have been excluded from the MYK. Kaya used to be resonsible from social policies affairs of the party, whereas Büyükgümüş was the AKP youth branch chair and Çam was the AKP women's branch chair.

They have been replaced by respectively Jülide Sarıeroğlu, Eyüp Kadir İnan and Ayşe Keşir.

The AKP's parliamentary group has also seen a change. AKP parliamentary group deputy chairs Özlem Zegin and Mehmet Muş were replaced by Mustafa Elitaş and Mahir Ünal, while Bülent Turan, Cahit Özkan and Emin Akbaşoğlu maintained their positions as parliamentary group deputy chairs.

Naci Bostancı will continue to serve as the AKP parliamentary group chair.

Earlier in the day, Erdoğan was unanimously re-elected as the AKP's leader in a crowded party congress held in the capital Ankara.

Out of 1,431 ballots, Erdoğan got 1,428 valid votes, and there were three spoiled ballots.

Speaking after the vote, Erdoğan thanked his fellow party members for deeming him worthy of the post.

During the congress, the party also elected 75 members of its Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK), with 21 changes made to the board.

27 MYK members are among the 75 MKYK members and are referred to as Erdoğan's A team.