The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) announced new appointments to four provincial branches late Wednesday.
The chairs were changed in the northern province of Rize, the southeastern provinces of Şanlıurfa and Mardin, and the southern province of Kahramanmaraş. The reshuffle follows similar appointments to seven branches in June.
Rize is home to the ancestral hometown of AK Party leader President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Though the party won the March 31 municipal elections in the Black Sea city, its vote significantly dropped compared to the 2019 elections.
The party lost to the opposition in Şanlıurfa and Mardin, while it retained its municipal seat despite voter loss in Kahramanmaraş, which was at the heart of the country’s worst earthquake in recent memory in 2023.
The AK Party won 380 city and district municipalities, while the main opposition, the Republican People’s Party (CHP), declared victory in 372 municipalities. Still, the opposition is deemed victorious for winning in cities with overwhelming support for the AK Party in the past elections. Indeed, this is the first major loss for the ruling party in the past two decades when it won successive general and local elections.
Convening his party’s branch heads for 81 provinces at a meeting in early May, Erdoğan hinted at changes within party cadres in the aftermath of the elections. He emphasized that they would not allow those seeking to advance their own political career and would focus on winning the hearts of “new names that will empower us.”
