Politics
Türkiye’s AK Party marks anniversary of inaugural win
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will celebrate the 24th anniversary of its first general election win on Tuesday. The party plans to hold a panel on its political journey at its headquarters, with the participation of its top officials and Minister of Treasury and Finance Mehmet Şimşek.
Party Deputy Chair Hüseyin Yayman, who will moderate Tuesday’s panel, spoke to Anadolu Agency (AA) about the anniversary and future of the party. “In the past 24 years, the AK Party saved Türkiye from becoming a less developed country and made it a global power,” Yayman said.
Founded in 2001 under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the AK Party was a true underdog in Turkish politics back then, a mixture of people with different political views, mostly those who split from the defunct Welfare Party (RP), including Erdoğan.
Erdoğan himself was in a difficult period in his life. He was recently released from prison for reciting a poem during his tenure as Istanbul mayor and had a political ban continuing after his release. Undaunted, the future president started laying the groundwork for his future political party. Apparently encouraged by the massive support he received after the unfair ban, Erdoğan embarked on a tour of Türkiye with fellow-minded veteran politicians and people from all walks of life. This grouping evolved into the “Movement of the Virtuous,” which sought to rally people across Anatolia to found a new political movement. This movement turned into a party in August 2001. The AK Party, which adopted a lightbulb as its symbol, was quick to reach a bright victory in the Nov. 3, 2002, general elections.
Campaigning under the slogan “On our own, into power” (“Tek başına, iş başına”), the party won 34.28% of the vote, becoming the leading party and forming the 58th government.
Yayman said 76 years have passed since Türkiye transitioned to a multiparty political system, adding that a comparison of the time different parties have spent in power during this period highlights the difference made by the AK Party. Emphasizing that the party has remained in power uninterrupted and governed alone since its establishment, winning all 18 elections it has contested, Yayman said: “This is a record in the history of Turkish democracy and European democracies. It is also a tremendous victory and achievement, one worthy of a place in the Guinness World Records. This is not only the AK Party’s victory but also that of our nation. It is the realization of the dream of a great Türkiye.”
He said the AK Party had changed the political, state and governance paradigms in Türkiye. “City hospitals, roads, highways and airports have been built, and universities have been established in Türkiye. However, the greatest achievement of our president and the AK Party has been instilling in the Turkish nation the feeling that ‘I, too, can succeed and accomplish things,’” he said.
Noting that Türkiye had undergone a major transformation and leaped forward under AK Party rule, Yayman said Erdoğan’s pledge that “the 21st century will be Türkiye’s century” had gradually become a tangible goal.
He said the AK Party was competing with itself to build on its achievements, improve its services and take state-citizen relations in Türkiye to a higher level.
‘Türkiye needs AK Party’
“I believe that, Allah willing, we will elect our president once again in the upcoming elections. Türkiye needs our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the AK Party and the People’s Alliance,” he said, referring to the next election that is scheduled to be held in 2028 but will likely be rescheduled to an earlier date to ensure Erdoğan’s eligibility to run again.
Stating that the party was focusing on the future and the needs of the new era in the coming period, Yayman emphasized that it had adopted development through change and progress through development as political principles.
He said the political system and the state’s governance framework needed to be updated, adding: “With a population of 86 million, Türkiye is one of the countries with the largest populations in Europe, while its territory of 780,000 square kilometers makes it one of the largest countries in terms of land area. Therefore, it has tremendous social dynamism. The need for reform is an important item on the agenda. We must keep the reform agenda alive in Türkiye because our country is a developing, growing and dynamic society, and its needs are constantly changing. The AK Party has achieved tremendous successes over 24 years. We are setting new goals for the second 24-year period. At the forefront of these goals are the Century of Türkiye vision and the goal of a great Türkiye. In this regard, we need to update the AK Party’s political software and overhaul our political legislation, from the Law on Political Parties to the Election Law,” he said.
Yayman said most political parties in Türkiye were little more than parties in name and needed to be brought under a system of discipline.
Referring to the need to update the Constitution, which he said formed the underlying framework of all these processes as society, governance and politics changed, Yayman described as a major “paradox” the fact that some critics characterized the 1980 coup as a disastrous event that cost Türkiye valuable time but failed to comment on the Constitution produced by that coup.
“You constantly condemn the coup at the level of rhetoric and criticize its programs, yet you say nothing about the Constitution, the coup’s most significant legacy. I am saying this with regard to the (opposition) Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the New Party (YP). There is a toxic understanding of opposition here. Unfortunately, the CHP and YP do not produce projects or provide any services. They have no promises that would help realize our nation’s aspirations. They constantly adopt an obstructive attitude, opposing everything. They have only one project: opposition to Erdoğan and demanding that ‘Erdoğan must go.’ No matter what you say, as we have seen in 18 elections, Erdoğan will not leave office simply because they want him to. Nor will he come to power simply because they want him to. Our president comes to power because the nation wants him to, and the nation will decide his fate when it chooses,” he said.
The party faced one of its most serious challenges in 2008, when the chief prosecutor filed a closure case on March 14, seeking to ban 71 party members, including President Abdullah Gül and then-Prime Minister Erdoğan, and dissolve the party. The Constitutional Court accepted the indictment on March 31, but on July 30, it voted against closure, as the required qualified majority was not achieved.
The 2010 constitutional referendum, held on the 30th anniversary of the 1980 coup, brought a “yes” vote of 57.88% to amend the 1982 Constitution. This reform period preceded the 2011 general elections, during which the AK Party achieved a record 49.53% of the vote. In the 2014 local elections, the party maintained its lead with 45.60%, winning 818 municipalities, including 18 metropolitan cities.
On Aug. 10, 2014, Erdoğan was elected Türkiye’s 12th president with 52% of the vote, becoming the first president to be chosen directly by the people. Konya Deputy Ahmet Davutoğlu succeeded him as chair, leading the party through the June 7, 2015, general elections and the Nov. 1 snap elections, in which the AK Party regained its parliamentary majority.
Leadership changed again on May 22, 2016, when Binali Yıldırım was elected chair at the 2nd Extraordinary Congress and formed the 65th government. That year, on July 15, Türkiye faced the deadliest coup attempt in its history, staged by the Gülenist Terrorist Group (FETÖ). President Erdoğan’s call for citizens to take to the streets and airports was decisive in stopping the attempt. The solidarity displayed between the AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in its aftermath laid the groundwork for the formation of the People’s Alliance.
On April 16, 2017, Türkiye held a constitutional referendum, initiated by an AK Party proposal signed by 316 deputies and submitted to Parliament on Dec. 10, 2016. Following parliamentary approval, President Erdoğan signed the law on Feb. 10, 2017, and voters went to the polls, approving the changes with 51.41% “yes.” The reform removed the rule that presidents must sever ties with their party, opening the way for Erdoğan’s return. On May 2, 2017, after a 979-day absence, Erdoğan rejoined the AK Party and was reelected chair on May 21 with all valid votes.
The first elections under the new presidential system were held on June 24, 2018, following a call for early elections from MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli. On the same day, voters cast ballots for both the presidency and Parliament. Erdoğan was reelected with 52.38% of the vote, and the AK Party secured 42.28% of the vote in parliamentary elections, marking its 13th consecutive national victory.
At the Aug. 18, 2018, 6th Ordinary Congress, Erdoğan was reelected chairperson with all valid votes. The party amended its bylaws to include electoral alliances and to prevent members from simultaneously holding positions on the Central Executive Board (MYK) and in Cabinet. Continuing its alliance with the MHP in the subsequent local elections, the AK Party won 44.33% of the vote, remaining the leading party.
For the 2023 elections, Erdoğan announced on March 10 that the vote would be moved from June 18 to May 14. In the first round of the presidential election, he received 49.52% of the vote, leading to a May 28 runoff, in which he prevailed with 52.18% of the vote. The AK Party won 35.62% of the parliamentary vote, taking 268 seats and retaining its status as Türkiye’s longest-serving ruling party since 1946.
On Oct. 7, 2023, at the 4th Extraordinary Congress, Erdoğan was reelected chair with all 1,399 valid votes. The Central Decision and Executive Board welcomed 49 new members, while 14 of the 18 Central Executive Board members retained their seats.
In the March 31, 2024, local elections, the AK Party won 35.49% of the vote, gaining 24 provincial and 357 district municipalities. After the results, Erdoğan stated that the party would “carefully weigh the messages from the ballot box with reason and conscience” and initiated a process of cadre renewal, replacing several provincial and district heads.
Recalling that the AK Party’s biggest promise for the coming period was to draft a new constitution, Yayman said: “A new constitution that is civilian, democratic and pluralistic, that will carry Türkiye into the 21st century and turn it into a global power, is indispensable for us. We need to update our political and constitutional frameworks to institutionalize the reforms we have made and the progress we have achieved, and to ensure that Türkiye moves confidently toward its goals.”
He stressed that the AK Party’s success extended beyond Türkiye’s borders, emphasizing that a conservative party maintaining power for 24 years in a functioning democratic system through elections and implementing numerous reforms was particularly significant for the Muslim world.
“President Erdoğan’s success is followed with great admiration and regarded as a model by European democracies, countries around the world and the Muslim world,” Yayman said.
National Intelligence Organization (MIT) chief Ibrahim Kalın met with senior Emirati officials in Abu Dhabi to discuss regional security, as Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates continue to deepen their strategic partnership.
Kalın was received by UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Türkiye’s Ambassador to Abu Dhabi Lütfullah Göktaş said on X.
UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoun bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Ali al-Shamsi, secretary-general of the Supreme Council for National Security, also attended the meeting.
The two sides discussed joint efforts to strengthen regional security and stability, according to Göktaş.
“We believe our strategic partnership with the UAE will make a serious contribution to consolidating regional security and peace,” the ambassador said.
Relations between Ankara and Abu Dhabi have warmed significantly in recent years after a long period of rivalry, during which the two countries backed opposing sides in the Libyan conflict. Sheikh Tahnoun’s visit to Türkiye in August 2021 marked the first major step toward mending ties. His brother, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, followed with a visit later that year.
A week of hearings on the “Imamoğlu criminal organization,” as prosecutors called it, will come to a close in a few days, but former Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoğlu was already cornered, with statements from more eyewitnesses, plaintiffs and co-defendants speaking up at his trial for corruption.
Statements during the hearings at the massive courthouse-prison complex in Silivri on the outskirts of the city were damning, to say the least, and exposed an apparent cycle of bribery and fraud for doing business with the municipality.
Imamoğlu, presidential candidate first for the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and then for its spin-off New Party (YP), was arrested last year and has been held in custody since then, along with 46 other defendants in the sprawling corruption case. A total of 436 defendants are being tried and most of them were released with judiciary control. Among them are municipal bureaucrats accused of being associates of Imamoğlu in his criminal ring thriving on bribes and tender-rigging. Prosecutors are seeking thousands of years in prison for Imamoğlu and fellow defendants. Gürgen, a code-named secret witness, was among those heard in this week’s hearings and detailed the alleged wrongdoings of the said ring. He testified against Ali Sukas, head of a municipal subsidiary in charge of landscaping. Gürgen claimed that Sukas’ wife was nominated for a legislative seat and he instructed his subordinate Ümit Polat to extort money from companies doing business with the subsidiary. “They were threatened that the subsidiary won’t release the funds they are owed to if they don’t pay for (campaign for Sukas’ wife),” the witness said.
Uğur Kemal Gökbulut, who worked as general coordinator for a construction company, detailed how the municipality asked for extra cash for construction permits for a major project of his company. He said the deputy mayor of Şişli, where the project would be constructed, asked him to hand out cheques to several people he designated “for charity.”
“They wouldn’t give us permits if we hadn’t delivered the cheques,” he told the court. Sefer Kocabaş, an architect who was an eyewitness in the hearing, told the court that municipal officials forced owners of a major shopping mall to pay bribes for a permit for a parking garage inside the mall and when they refused, the municipality issued fines to the mall for irrelevant causes.
Ilker Aydın, an investment manager at a pharmaceuticals company, told the court the company’s owner had invested in a construction project in Istanbul’s Şişli district, but the project was incomplete as the municipality had not issued permits for remaining apartment and commercial blocks when the company refused to pay the $5 million requested by the municipality. Aydın said the company later agreed to pay $3.5 million as a bribe for approval of the project.
Another witness, Metin Karakoç, said he worked for a company mentioned in the indictment and that Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) employee and mapping engineer Yakup Öner had requested a “donation” during a meeting with his boss, Mehmet Torun, who is both a defendant and a complainant in the case. Torun agreed to the request, he said. Claiming that the donation in question was subsequently converted into a conditional donation, Karakoç said they made the payment after their requests were approved by the municipal council.
A maritime jurisdiction deal Libya approved years after its signing with Türkiye was on the agenda of Devlet Bahçeli as he addressed fellow lawmakers of his Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), part of the ruling People’s Alliance, on Tuesday.
The deal, which confirms maritime delimitation between the two countries, has irritated the European Union, which counts Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration, two opponents of the deal, among its members.
Bahçeli told the parliamentary group meeting of his party in Ankara that they “noted that those disturbed by the friendly relations between Türkiye and Libya have voiced their outrage over this development.”
“It has immediately become clear that Greece, the Greek Cypriot administration, Israel, which is provoking them against Türkiye, and the European Union, which does not hesitate to criticize Türkiye based on Greek and Greek Cypriot positions under the guise of ‘union solidarity,’ are all troubled by this development. The joint press statement issued by the presidents of the European Commission and the European Council has exposed the EU’s contradictory approach and desperation,” Bahçeli said, referring to a statement that defined the agreement as “null and void” and an “infringement on the sovereign rights of third countries.”
“All officials in Brussels must understand that lecturing Türkiye, dictating its course and instructing it on what it can or cannot do is beyond the bounds of what Europe, like anyone else, can presume to do to a country such as Türkiye, which has the power and will to make and implement decisions fully independently and solely in line with its own interests. Neither Türkiye nor Libya is obliged to act in accordance with their expectations and demands. Furthermore, respecting the sovereign rights of countries bordering the Mediterranean would be the most legally and politically appropriate course of action for everyone,” he said.
Libya’s House of Representatives unanimously approved the maritime boundary agreement last month, marking a significant development in the long-running dispute over maritime jurisdiction in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Originally signed in November 2019 between Türkiye and Libya’s former U.N.-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), the memorandum establishes maritime boundaries between the two Mediterranean countries.
Ankara maintains that the agreement safeguards both countries’ sovereign rights and counters what it considers excessive maritime claims by Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration.
Athens, however, rejects the agreement, arguing that it disregards the maritime rights of Greek islands and violates international maritime law.
“The reactions from the European Union, Greece and other actors carry little significance from a legal standpoint, as international law recognizes agreements concluded between sovereign states,” Ufuk Necat Taşçı, assistant professor of International Relations at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, told Daily Sabah on Oct. 21, stressing that the agreement had already been registered with the U.N., and it now enjoys broad support across Libya’s political and military leadership, including the parliament, the western-based government and military forces in both eastern and western Libya.
Riots in Europe
Bahçeli was also sardonic about riots and protests that gripped Europe in the past few weeks, from France to Germany, as students and others dissatisfied with the state policies took to the streets. “The European Union should remind its member states about its sensitivity to basic rights and freedoms, as well,” Bahçeli said, in a pushback to criticism of Türkiye by the bloc in the past on rights and freedoms.
“The social movements that began in France and spread to other countries evolved in a short time into violent riots disrupting public order and peace. Europeans should examine the underlying causes of violent riots. Europe sought political gains for a long time through Islamophobia, Turkophobia and anti-migrant sentiments. Now, the seeds of strife they sowed have hit them,” he stated.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a statement Tuesday on the anniversary of the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) first election victory in 2002.
“We opened the doors to a big, strong Türkiye in the Nov. 3, 2002, elections, when we received the blessings of our nation for the first time. We accomplished an Anatolian revolution 24 years ago,” Erdoğan said in a social media post Tuesday, during his visit to South Korea to seal new bilateral deals.
“We have been the servant of our revered nation for a quarter of a century with our projects and investments. We worked tirelessly under the motto ‘everything is for Türkiye.’ We know that we are walking a long, narrow path where, Allah willing, we will serve the country more and take Türkiye to a more advanced level in every field,” he said, using a line from a song by Turkish folk singer Aşık Veysel.
“Allah willing, we will continue serving this nation we fell in love with, this country we love,” he added.
The AK Party hosted a panel at its headquarters on Tuesday for the anniversary, and the party’s deputy chair Efkan Ala explained how the party ensured that the people’s will governed the country. He said in his speech at the panel that the AK Party had established itself as a brand in governance, describing management as the most important resource for any country.
Referring to Türkiye’s goal of becoming one of the world’s 10 most developed countries, Ala emphasized that a common characteristic of the 10 most developed nations was “well-functioning governance.” Recalling President Erdoğan’s remark that “the people founded the AK Party, we simply put up its sign,” Ala explained the circumstances behind the statement.
He said the Feb. 28, 1997, coup had taken place during a time when trust between society and the state had collapsed, the country was experiencing an economic crisis, and politics had failed to recover. It was against this backdrop, he said, that the AK Party was founded. Noting that the average government tenure was one year and seven months before AK Party governments took office, Ala said: “The AK Party has changed such a system. Look, we are now in our 24th year and have entered our 25th.”
“Do they sell scarves in August?” Özgür Özel rhetorically asked during a speech on Tuesday.
The leader of the main opposition New Party (YP) was accused by the son of a former lawmaker of taking bribes. Emir Sarıgül, whose father Mustafa recently parted ways with the YP after the exposure of a corruption and sex scandal, told investigators that the lawmaker paid bribes to Özel when the latter was chair of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), including one instance when he hid the cash among scarves his son purchased in August.
“Özel has nothing to do with money,” the YP leader, who often refers to himself in third person, told the parliamentary group meeting of his party in Ankara on Tuesday.
He said those who witnessed such an act of bribery should come forward with tangible evidence other than the statement of Emir Sarıgül.
Emir Sarıgül has claimed that his father bribed Özel to secure his position. He said Mustafa Sarıgül had handed Özel a total of $350,000 in cash concealed among gift packages.
The younger Sarıgül was one of 24 suspects detained last month as part of an investigation into the Sarıgül family over allegations of money laundering and unexplained wealth. He recently gave an additional statement to prosecutors, detailing the hundreds of thousands of dollars allegedly handed directly to Özel.
“I know that during the establishment of the New Party, $250,000 was left inside a vehicle belonging to Özgür Özel to cover the interior furnishing of the party’s headquarters. The money was handed over outside a restaurant in Ümitköy, Ankara. My father and Özgür Özel had dinner that day with a group of six or seven members of Parliament. As they left the restaurant, my father personally placed the $250,000 in the back of Özgür Özel’s vehicle. He told me this himself.
“He also told me that Özel had been given another $100,000 in cash last month. At the time, my father told me that Özgür Özel would be coming to his house in Ankara for dinner. He asked me to buy two scarves from a store. I purchased them and handed them to my father. He then placed $100,000 inside the scarf package at his house in Istanbul. The scarves were placed alongside the money. We then prepared the package as a gift. He took the package and drove to Istanbul Airport in his own vehicle. He flew to Ankara, first stopping by Parliament before going to his house in Ümitköy. Özel came over for dinner that evening, and the money was handed to him in person. My father told me about it the following day,” he said.
Özel’s name has been repeatedly linked to bribery allegations dating back to his tenure as head of the CHP. Figures close to Özel already face charges of bribing delegates to secure their votes for him in the party’s 2023 internal election, which brought him to power. Muhittin Böcek, the former mayor of Antalya who was arrested on corruption charges, has also claimed that he repeatedly delivered cash to Özel in secret to secure his nomination as the CHP’s candidate in the 2024 municipal elections.
An examination of the body of Kaşif Kozinoğlu, a former intelligence officer who died in prison, reportedly of a heart attack, revealed toxic materials enough to kill a healthy person, according to a report published by the Sabah newspaper on Tuesday.
Kozinoğlu died on Nov. 12, 2011, after falling ill while being held at Silivri Prison in Istanbul. He was jailed as part of the Ergenekon investigations that Turkish authorities now describe as a plot orchestrated by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and died shortly before he was due to present his defense in court.
A new probe was launched into his death, long described as suspicious by Kozinoğlu’s friends, after Justice Minister Akın Gürlek took office earlier this year and announced he would pursue new investigations into unsolved crimes and suspicious deaths of the yesteryear in high-profile cases.
The new autopsy report of Kozinoğlu, whose last tenure was as the chief adviser in charge of Asian affairs at the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), indicates findings of antimony in his hair and fingernails. High doses of antimony can cause cardiac arrest.
The report on the body, which was exhumed on Sept. 12, noted that it was in an advanced state of decomposition.
The most striking finding in the report was that although antimony was not detected in any of the seven different grave soil samples examined, it was found at various levels in the body. The presence of such high concentrations of antimony in biological tissues despite its complete absence from the soil strengthened the possibility that the substance had entered the body from an external source, heightening suspicions of foul play, according to the Sabah report.
Antimony causes cellular damage similar to that caused by arsenic and can have fatal consequences by triggering severe gastrointestinal disorders, liver and kidney failure, and cardiovascular shock.
Allegations that Kozinoğlu drank coffee in prison shortly before his death, along with suspicions raised in the investigation file, have been brought under renewed scrutiny in light of the antimony and arsenic findings in the report. In forensic toxicology literature, coffee is recognized as a highly effective vehicle for concealing differences in the taste and smell of chemical substances due to its bitter flavor, strong aroma and dense consistency, the Sabah report says.
A total of 30 people have faced legal proceedings so far in the broader investigation into Kozinoğlu’s suspicious death. Nine suspects, including Ali Işgören, the Silivri chief public prosecutor at the time, former MIT operative Enver Altaylı, a prison guard and emergency medical technicians, have been arrested. An arrest warrant has also been issued for one prison official.
Sabah newspaper has also released images from the security camera footage of the prison ward at the time of Kozinoğlu’s death. The footage allegedly shows Kozinoğlu’s cellmate Hasan Atilla Uğur switched off the ambient lighting for about 14 minutes while Kozinoğlu was taking a walk in the prison.
The footage also showed Kozinoğlu’s cellmates, Uğur and Hasan Ataman Yıldırım, washing the glass from which Kozinoğlu had drunk coffee on the kitchen counter shortly after he fell ill and was taken to hospital. Uğur and Yıldırım were released under house arrest in recent months following statements they gave to investigators.
Kozinoğlu has said in a statement shortly before his death that he feared he could be killed. Prosecutors had accused him of being a member of a terrorist group and leaking confidential documents, and he was questioned by Zekeriya Öz, a prosecutor who is now on the run after an arrest warrant was issued for him on charges of FETÖ membership.
The Ergenekon case began in 2007 after weapons were discovered in Istanbul’s Ümraniye district and eventually led to the prosecution of hundreds of military officers, journalists, academics and other public figures accused of belonging to an alleged clandestine network plotting to overthrow the government.
Following the failed coup attempt in 2016, Turkish authorities reassessed many of the investigations and trials carried out by members of FETÖ’s network within the judiciary. Officials have since argued that the Ergenekon proceedings were part of a broader effort by the terrorist group to remove senior military personnel and expand its influence within state institutions.
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