Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Deputy Chair Hamza Dağ announced that they would hold a large-scale event on Aug. 24 in the capital Ankara to mark the party’s foundation anniversary. The party marks its 22nd year this year, a period of accomplishment for then a newcomer to Türkiye’s political scene. Never losing any general election, it ended the era of coalition governments in the Republic of Türkiye.
Dağ told reporters in Ankara on Thursday that their slogan for the 22nd anniversary was “the right always at work.” “We will show that AK Party is not ‘tired’ as some people claimed and we always renew ourselves and always have dynamic cadres,” he said.
From political pundits to opponents, many thought that the AK Party, founded by former members of the Virtue Party (FP), would be short-lived when it set out its course in Turkish politics in 2002. Its Chairperson Recep Tayyip Erdoğan himself was considered a fad in politics when he unexpectedly won the mayor’s seat in the Istanbul municipality elections. Today, both the party and Erdoğan (first as prime minister and then as president) are viewed as the most enduring forces in the brief history of the republic.
Dağ pointed out that the AK Party was born on Aug. 14, 2001, out of the “heart of the nation” and was its only hope at a time of political, social and economic instability. “Under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, it pledged to the nation that nothing would be the same again and indeed, it never did,” Dağ said.
He said that their past was checkered with challenges and obstacles but was also filled with victories and landmark services to the public.
Dağ stated that the Aug. 24 event will host figures from all ranks of the party, as long as former members, founders, and current and former lawmakers.
“The AK Party has always been a lifeline for Türkiye and helped its growth. It strengthened Türkiye. But its greatest accomplishment was ending a rule of (military) tutelage and a mindset of oppression,” he said. The party is credited with transforming the army from a powerful presence in politics, ousting the governments it disliked, to a regular defense force concentrated on battling security threats, such as years of campaigns of terrorism by the PKK," the AK Party deputy chair said.
