Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party will hold its sixth ordinary congress Saturday in the capital, Ankara.

The party will change its bylaws in accordance with Turkey's new presidential system.

The new bylaws will enable members of the presidential cabinet to take part in the Central Executive and Decision Board (MKYK), which has the power to form and dissolve the party's grassroots organizations.

A total of 1,457 delegates will vote for a new MKYK of 50 party members.

AK Party spokesman Mahir Unal said previously that at least half of the MKYK’s membership would change in the sixth congress.

Fifty-two heads of state as well as senior officials of foreign diplomatic missions and representatives of non-governmental organizations have been invited to the congress.

The AK Party normally holds its grand congress once every three years. The last one was in September 2015.

In May 2017, the AK Party held an extraordinary congress following the historic approval of a raft of constitutional changes that April.

At the congress, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was reelected as head of the party.

On June 24 this year, Erdogan won an absolute majority in the presidential election with 52.6 percent of the vote, besting his closest rival, Muharrem Ince, who got 30.6 percent, according to Turkey’s Supreme Election Council (YSK).

In the parliamentary polls, the People's Alliance, including the AK Party, won 52.6 percent of the vote. The Nation Alliance, including the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), got 33.9 percent.

After its establishment in 2001, the AK Party won the November 2002 election with two-thirds of the seats in parliament. It became the first party to win an outright majority in over a decade.

During his time as prime minister, Erdogan oversaw general elections in 2007 and 2011, both times returning the AK Party to power with a greater share of the vote.

The party also performed well in local elections in 2004, 2009 and 2014 when it secured 18 out of 30 mayoral seats in larger cities. </s> Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is holding its sixth ordinary convention Saturday in the capital, Ankara.

The party will change its bylaws in accordance with Turkey's new presidential system.

The new bylaws will enable members of the presidential cabinet to take part in the Central Executive and Decision Board (MKYK), which has the power to form and dissolve the party's grassroots organizations.

A total of 1,457 delegates will vote for a new MKYK of 50 party members.

AK Party spokesman Mahir Ünal said previously that at least half of the MKYK's membership would change in the sixth congress.

Fifty-two heads of state as well as senior officials of foreign diplomatic missions and representatives of non-governmental organizations have been invited to the convention.

The AK Party normally holds its grand convention once every three years. The last one was in September 2015.

In May 2017, the AK Party held an extraordinary convention following the historic approval of a raft of constitutional changes that April.

At the convention, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan rejoined and was reelected as head of the party which he co-founded.

Erdoğan is expected to be re-elected as party chair at Saturday's grand convention, which is attended by thousands of people from across the country in and around the 10,500-seat Ankara Sports Center.

Fifty-two heads of state have been invited to the convention. The chairman of Russia's Duma and a representative from the Communist Party of China are expected to participate, official Anadolu Agency said.

More than 600 local and foreign journalists, representatives from eight Turkish political parties as well as NGOs will follow the convention, it added.

Saturday's event also comes on the heels of a deepening rift with the U.S., a NATO ally.

Tensions between Ankara and Washington rose particularly following the arrest of American pastor Andrew Brunson. The 50-year-old clergyman, who is being tried on espionage and terrorism-related charges, was detained in October 2016 and arrested that December in the aftermath of a failed coup.

U.S. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs on Turkish steel and aluminum on Aug. 10, while also imposing sanctions on Turkish interior and justice ministers. The sanctions, topped with worries over the Turkish economy and a global scale trade and currency war, sent Turkish lira to new record lows and made it one of the worst performing currencies this year.

Turkey responded in kind to the sanctions, increasing tariffs on U.S. alcohol, tobacco and automotive products on Wednesday, also imposing the same sanctions to the U.S. interior and state secretaries. Turkish officials and financial sector executives described the U.S. moves as an "economic war", adding that the volatility in lira does not reflect the state of the country's economy.

Speaking at the convention, Erdoğan criticized the U.S. and Trump without specifying, saying: "We have not surrendered and will not surrender to those who pretend to be our strategic partners while making us their strategic targets."

On June 24 this year, Erdoğan won an absolute majority in the presidential election with 52.6 percent of the vote, besting his closest rival, Muharrem Ince, who got 30.6 percent, according to Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK).

In the parliamentary polls, the People's Alliance, including the AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), won 52.6 percent of the vote. The Nation Alliance, including the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), newly-formed right-wing Good Party (IYI Party – IP) and conservative Felicity Party (SP), got 33.9 percent.

After its establishment in 2001, the AK Party won the November 2002 election with two-thirds of the seats in parliament. It became the first party to win an outright majority in over a decade.

During his time as prime minister, Erdoğan oversaw general elections in 2007 and 2011, both times returning the AK Party to power with a greater share of the vote.

The party also performed well in local elections in 2004, 2009 and 2014 when it secured 18 out of 30 mayoral seats in larger cities. </s> Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK) has ruled for a rerun of local elections in Istanbul, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party)'s YSK representative Recep Özel said Monday.

The YSK ruled seven against four 4 in favor and annulled the results of the mayoral election in Istanbul. The renewed election will be held on June 23.

The top election body also decided to file a criminal complaint against the chairman and members of the district election council, election managers and other persons responsible for appointing polling staffs unlawfully.

Özel said the decision was based on unsigned results documents from the March 31 election and on some ballot box officials not being civil servants.

"With this decision, our demand for re-election has been vindicated,'' he said.

The YSK also rejected objections to election results in Istanbul's Maltepe and Büyükçekmece districts.

The mayoral certificate of the main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Ekrem Imamoğlu has also been canceled by the council.

The CHP will hold an extraordinary assembly meeting on Tuesday under the chairmanship of the party leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is currently chairing his party's Central Executive Board's (MYK) extraordinary meeting at the party's headquarters.

The decision to re-hold mayoral elections comes in the wake of new pieces of evidence AK Party has uncovered.

Millions of Turkish voters cast their votes nationwide on March 31 in local elections to choose mayors, city council members, and other officials for the next five years.

Elections in Istanbul, where Nation Alliance candidate from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Ekrem İmamoğlu was awarded the certificate of the election with only a 13,729-vote difference were followed by lengthy discussions and objections by parties demanding a do-over election due to irregularities and unlawfulness. After the elections, the AK Party submitted an extraordinary objection to the YSK for the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Maltepe Municipality and Büyükçekmece Municipality two weeks ago to cancel and redo the Istanbul municipal election.

The AK Party's extraordinary objection concerned four categories: Irregularities in vote count sheets, serious discrepancies between the number of registered voters and the number of voting ballots, some balloting committee chairmen and members not being government employees as required by law and ineligible voters participating in the polls. According to the AK Party, there were significant discrepancies among tabulated results with wet signatures and stamps, showing the first vote record, the final record and the total number of votes submitted to the YSK. There were also empty or unsigned voting records and irregular registrations of voters.

A probe of irregularities found that dozens of members of balloting committees linked the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), the group behind the 2016 defeated coup in Turkey.

Of 43 committee members allegedly linked to FETÖ, 41 were found to be customers of Bank Asya, a FETÖ-linked bank, two were users of ByLock, the terror group's encrypted messaging app, and two were members of FETÖ-linked labor unions. </s> Incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared victory after receiving 52.6 percent of the votes with more than 96 percent of ballot boxes opened while the alliance led by his ruling AK Party securing the majority in the parliament.

Main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) presidential candidate Muharrem Ince has so far received 30.8 percent of the votes.

 

 

 AK Party supporters head to Huber Mansion, Erdoğan's official residence in Istanbul, start to celebrate the election outcome as preliminary results suggest victory for the incumbent president

Meanwhile, the newly formed Good Party's (İP)' presidential candidate Meral Akşener gets 7.5 percent of the votes and the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) candidate Selahattin Demirtaş has won 7.2 percent.

Temel Karamollaoğlu for the Felicity Party (SP) had 0.9 percent of the votes and Patriotic Party (VP) Chairman Doğu Perinçek managed to garner only 0.2 percent of the votes.

In a speech at the presidential mansion in Istanbul's Sarıyer district, Erdoğan claimed victory and thanked Turkish electorate for their support to himself and the Justice and Development Party(AK Party).

İnce said that he will make a statement after Turkey's Supreme Election Board (YSK) announces provisional results

In the parliamentary elections, the People's Alliance formed between the AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) received 55.8 percent of the votes with 72.1 percent of the total votes counted.

 

 

 Supporters of Turkish President Erdoğan hold Turkish and AK Party flags and greet after closing voting for the Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections in Ankara, Turkey, 24 June 2018

The National Alliance formed between the CHP, İP, and the SP collected 32.8 percent of the votes.

With the polls officially closed, electoral committees across the country's 81 provinces have started counting ballots.

Votes were cast in 180,065 polling places across the country.

Voting at Turkish customs gates with adjoining countries, which began on June 7, has also ended.

Votes by Turks living abroad who cast their ballots in 60 countries at 123 embassies and consulates will be counted at the same time in the capital Ankara. </s> The ruling Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) candidate in the controversial rerun of Istanbul's mayoral election has conceded defeat after initial results showed the opposition leading the vote.

The state-run Anadolu news agency said on Sunday that the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Ekrem Imamoglu was leading with 53.69 percent of the vote, compared with AK Party's Binali Yildirim's 45.4 percent, with more than 95 percent of ballots counted.

"According to the result as of now, my competitor Ekrem Imamoglu is leading the race. I congratulate him and wish him good luck," Yildirim said.

CHP's projected win in the Istanbul election ends the 17 year rule by the AK Party in Turkey's largest city and commercial hub.

The Istanbul mayoral election was first held on March 31, when Imamoglu secured 48.8 percent of the vote, while the AK Party's Yildirim held 48.55 percent, granting Imamoglu the title of mayor with a razor-thin margin.

The AK Party proceeded to file an 'extraordinary objection' to the results, leading the Supreme Electoral Council (YSK) to annul the results and schedule Sunday's rerun.

The Istanbul election has become far bigger than any local vote, as the rerun put into question the country's democracy and threatened the AK Party's stronghold on power over the last two decades.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan - who served as Istanbul's mayor in the 1990s - has famously said: "whoever loses Istanbul loses Turkey.

Erdogan cast his vote on Sunday amid high security in Uskudar, a predominately conservative district on the city's Asian side.

Bilkent University Assistant Professor of International Relations, Berk Esen, described it as being a "major personal blow for Erdogan.

"It has marked the beginning of the end for the Turkish style presidency and become difficult for the AKP machine to sustain itself without the corrupt use of Istanbul resources," he said.

After AK Party mayoral candidate Yildirim cast his vote today he addressed a gathered crowd with a statement seemingly pointing to the pressure felt by his party.

"If we ever made any wrongdoing to any rival or brother in Istanbul, I would like to ask for their forgiveness and blessing," Yildirim expressed.

Voting in Beylikduzu in west Istanbul, CHP's Imamoglu said Istanbul will vote with the rule of law, justice and democracy at the forefront of their minds.

"In the name of our democracy, in the name of Istanbul and in the name of legitimacy of all future elections of our country, today my people will make the most accurate decision," Imamoglu said.

To ensure no "illegal wrongdoings" were made in Istanbul's mayoral rerun, various independent mechanisms have been erected in order to monitor the voting and counting process.

For example, at the call of CHP, lawyers from across Turkey volunteered their time to travel to Istanbul in order to counter election fraud.

One lawyer was appointed to each voting booth erected in nearly 2,000 polling stations across the city.

Esen told Al Jazeera this is a very important for Turkish politics, as the vote counting process has not been very accurate and fair in previous elections.

"It's important for the opposition party to organise and mobilise supporters not only to come out and vote but also observe the counting process to make sure no votes will be stolen," Esen said.

"Lawyers … would be able to make sure that the ruling party will not be able to cancel the result on a mere technicality."

Since the state-run Anadolu Agency became the outlet to distribute live election results to the media in 2014, the voluntary Vote and Beyond (Oy ve Otesi) organisation has been trying to ensure "transparent and accountable elections."

After controversy surrounded Anadolu Agency's release of data in the March 31 election, in which is ceased broadcasting at 11pm when Imamoglu came into the lead, Vote and Beyond launched a new mobile application to post live updates.

The data is sourced from volunteers at each polling station recording "minutes" of the counts.

A group of citizen journalists who founded the group Dokuz8, also in 2014, have also released live updates of the vote counting. </s> President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said it is now time to focus on future of Turkey by leaving behind tensions of the election period following his victory in the presidential elections on Sunday.

"Our people have given us the job of carrying out the presidential and executive posts," he said in a short speech from Istanbul.

"I hope nobody will try to cast a shadow on the results and harm democracy in order to hide their own failure."

Erdoğan received the majority of the votes in all the ballot boxes where the presidential candidates cast their votes yesterday.

Unofficial results showed Erdoğan winning with 52.7 percent of the vote, with his closest opponent Muharrem Ince with 30.7 percent with 93 percent of votes counted.

His Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which has been in power since 2002, received approximately 42.5 percent of the vote to win its sixth consecutive general election. </s> Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan throws flowers to his supporters as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan throws flowers to his supporters as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018.

Supporters of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cheer as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. Supporters of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cheer as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, accompanied by his wife Emine, left, throws flowers to his supporters as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. less Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, accompanied by his wife Emine, left, throws flowers to his supporters as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) ... more

Supporters of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cheer as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. Supporters of Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, cheer as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine, left, throws flowers to his supporters as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018. less Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, accompanied by his wife Emine, left, throws flowers to his supporters as he arrives to deliver a speech at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) congress in ... more </s> President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan received congratulations from Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Palestine's Mahmoud Abbas, Azerbaijan's Haider Aliyev, Hungary's Viktor Orban and Bosnia's Bakir Izetbegovic, Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev late Sunday as the preliminary results suggested a victory for the incumbent president.

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev was the first head of state to call his Turkish counterpart after the results.

Shortly after, the Bosniak member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia Bakir Izetbegovic, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama also extended their congratulations.

Hungarian Prime Minister Vcitor Orban also became the first EU leader to call Erdoğan to congratulate him on his election success.

Greek Foreign Minister Nikolaos Kotzias and Guinea's Mamadi Toure also called Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu to congratulate him on AK Party's success in the elections.

With almost 80 percent of votes counted in Turkey's presidential elections, incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is predicted to emerge as the winner with a 54.4 percent lead.

Meanwhile, the newly formed Good Party's (İP) presidential candidate Meral Akşener gets 7.5 percent of the votes and the pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party's (HDP) candidate Selahattin Demirtaş has won 7.2 percent. </s> Festival-like celebrations took place across the country after a clear victory was announced for the re-election of the incumbent President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the People's Alliance, formed by the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) on Sunday's historic presidential and parliamentary elections. After the results were announced, thousands of Erdoğan supporters took to the streets and celebrated in almost every corner of the country, while major provinces such as the capital Ankara and Turkey's culture and commercial capital Istanbul witnessed historic moments. Erdoğan claimed a win with 52.6 percent in the presidential elections, while the People's Alliance secured 344 parliamentary seats, gaining the majority in the 600 seat Parliament.

Erdoğan was followed by the Republican People's Party (CHP) candidate Muharrem İnce as the closest rival with 30.6 percent of the votes, according to unofficial results with 99.9 percent of the ballot boxes opened. The official election results will be announced on July 5, Turkey's Supreme Election Council (YSK) said yesterday. Erdoğan addressed thousands of supporters in Istanbul, where he cast his vote, late Sunday, and later traveled to the capital Ankara to address the thousands waiting for his victory speech at AK Party's headquarters. "The winners of the June 24 elections are Turkey, the Turkish nation, sufferers of our region and all the oppressed in the world," Erdoğan said during his address to the nation, and added that democracy had triumphed with high participation rates in the elections.

The president also thanked the partner party in the People's Alliance, the MHP, for their support.

"I would like to express my gratitude to my people, my brothers and sisters who put their trust in me, my alliance and my party," Erdoğan said.

Erdoğan said he also received the citizens' message in the polls, as AK Party received less votes than himself as the presidential candidate.

AK Party received 42.6 percent of the vote and 295 seats at the Parliament, while MHP secured 11.1 percent of the overall vote and secured 44 seats at the Parliament. The rival alliance, the Nation Alliance, formed by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), the Good Party (İP) and the Felicity Party (SP) received 33.9 percent of the vote and 189 seats at the Parliament. The pro-PKK Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) received 11.7 percent of the vote and secured 67 seats.

 

 

 President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan greets his supporters from the balcony of the ruling AK Party headquarters in Ankara early yesterday

Voter turnout in the presidential race was 84.3 percent, out of more than 53 million voters, and for the parliamentary elections the turnout was 86.22 percent; the two elections which were held on the same day.

"In this term, we will be before our nation and make up for our shortcomings," Erdoğan added. "Starting from tomorrow, we will be in a rush trying to deliver on promises that we have made to our nation."

He also said his government would confront terror groups more decisively. "We will increase our country's international reputation," he added.

"Turkey has decided to take the side of growth, development, investment, enrichment and a reputable, honorable and influential country in all areas in the world," Erdoğan said.

Turkey had approved a shift from the parliamentary system to a presidential one in a referendum on a constitutional amendments package on April 16, 2017. The government in Turkey will now be led by a president, as the prime ministerial post is dismantled.

In addition to the country-wide celebrations, with young and old taking to the streets, Turks abroad also flocked to the streets to celebrate Erdoğan's victory, particularly in European countries.

Expats in many European countries, including Germany, France, Belgium, Austria, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Bosnia and Herzegovina joined their countrymen in Turkey who celebrated the election win with waving the Turkish flags in their cities.

Many in Muslim-majority countries also celebrated Erdoğan's election win, as he is viewed by many as the leader of the oppressed around the world.

Sunday's elections were observed by both domestic and international monitors who said the overall process for the elections was healthy and fair.
At the 6th Ordinary Congress of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is re-elected as the party's chairman, receiving 1380 of 1381 votes.