Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Spokesperson Ömer Çelik announced the party’s new Central Executive Committee members, as he reiterated Turkey’s determination to fight domestic violence despite the country’s withdrawal from the Istanbul Convention.
Çelik noted that former Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, who ran as the party’s candidate for mayor in Istanbul and Hayati Yazıcı would serve as the party’s deputy chairpersons, while Hayati Yazıcı, Erkan Kandemir, Hamza Dağ, Özlem Zengin, Leyla Şahin Usta and Jülide Sarıeroğlu are among the executive committee members.
Ali Ihsan Yavuz would continue to be responsible for election affairs, while Hamza Dağ would serve as the media and publicity chair, and Efkan Ala would lead the party’s external affairs.
Çelik noted that the executive members would be leading the party’s critical political decisions and actions until the 2023-2024 election period.
In response to a question about a potential cabinet revision, Çelik said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had the prerogative to make such changes, as he dismissed many of the predictions by calling them “made up.”
