Türkiye’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will camp in the capital, Ankara, for three days to dissect municipal services and swap experiences.
Chairperson and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be convening 541 provincial and district mayors from across the country this Sunday, where eight Cabinet ministers will be making presentations.
The mayors are expected to personally recount to Erdoğan the troubles they encounter in the field, as well as other issues like budget shortages, staff wages and bureaucratic obstacles.
Erdoğan will address the assembly on the second day, while party spokesperson Ömer Çelik will oversee a general evaluation panel on the third day.
The ruling party laid out a roadmap for the next general elections in 2028 at another three-day camp earlier this month, which including launching “Türkiye meetings” that will start this month and last until the party’s ordinary congress, scheduled for October 2025, which is said to be “unlike the usual assemblies.”
The AK Party wants to set up a vast consultation network to discuss fresh policies and dissect its performance in the past 20 years. The party will send its lawmakers into the field to meet with citizens to personally respond to public questions.
In addition to fieldwork, an online organization model is also in the works.
The AK Party is planning to increase the number of its members, currently over 11 million nationwide, notably targeting voters who opted for other parties or abstained in the May 2023 general and March 31 local elections.
Turnout was particularly low for the local vote, down by almost 5 million people to 78.1% from 84.7% in 2019 and 86.9% in the 2023 elections, meaning 22 out of every 100 voters didn’t go to polls.
For the first time in years, the AK Party lagged behind the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) in the elections. The CHP won 14 metropolitan municipalities, including Istanbul and the capital, Ankara, though the AK Party sought to retake after losing them to the CHP in the 2019 elections.
Per Erdoğan’s promise to make “the necessary changes” at the party, new chairs were appointed to seven provincial branches last week.
