The actions of the AKP’s Seventh General Conference under the slogan “Trust and Stability for Turkey”, which the party convenes 19 years after its establishment, marked the beginning of a new phase in preparation for the 2023 elections.

The holding of the general conference followed the completion of the party’s sub-conferences in all Turkish cities, which witnessed the renewal of 70% of the party’s cadres in its branches, and the most prominent of these amendments was the election of Nuri Kabak Tapa as head of the party’s branch in Istanbul, who was close to Necmettin Erbakan.

The conference activities in the Turkish capital (Ankara) were attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, party cadres and 11 political parties who were invited.

The conference elected Ben Ali Yildirim and Nauman Kurtulmuş as vice-presidents of the party (Anatolia).

Conference results

The conference saw a thousand and 560 delegates cast their votes in the polling process to choose the party leader during the general conference, as confidence in President Erdoan was unanimously renewed, and the former Prime Minister, Ben Ali Yildirim, and Numan Quurtulmuş were elected as vice-presidents, and the number of members of the Supreme Leadership Committee was increased from 50 to 75, and the results indicate a major change in the leadership structure, a reflection of the innovation that took place in the party branch elections.

What is striking in the conference is the return of some figures who were absent from the political arena in previous periods, and the change exceeded 50%, in addition to the fact that the most prominent old faces of former and current ministers have become outside this new administration of the party.

The major change in the party’s leadership structure will be followed within days by ministerial changes that will include the appointment of new ministers and the separation of some previously merged ministries.

Deputy Chairman of the Justice and Development Party Maher Onal had told NTV that there would be a cabinet reshuffle in Turkey in the coming days.

The rapprochement between Justice and Development and the Islamist movement "Milli Gurush" led by Aguzhan Aseel was reflected in the current arrangements within the ruling party and later in the government.

A special source in the Justice and Development Party revealed to Al-Jazeera Net that the ministerial amendments will include the interior, education, health, culture and agriculture, as well as amendments to committees and presidential departments, and a change in a number of their officials, including the communication department.

It is likely that one or more Islamist ministers will be appointed from within the justice and development, and former parliamentarian Aiden Onal is being talked about.

It is expected that there will be sites to "satisfy" big names in the government by raising their status with the termination of the job.

Erdogan's speech

The speech delivered by Erdogan is considered the Turkish government's vision for the year 2023, in which he extensively explained all issues, whether related to economic packages, legal requirements and foreign policy.

Erdogan presented what his party had done during his rule, and announced the upcoming projects that the party would undertake in the coming period.


The Turkish president affirmed the pursuit of Turkey's desired goals for the year 2023, then 2053. "Those who have occupied Turkey with its internal problems over the past two centuries and kept it away from radical changes will not succeed in their renewed attempts," he said.

He noted that Turkey has repeatedly demonstrated its resistance to shocks through the dynamic structure of its economy, financial discipline, and adherence to free market rules.

"Discussing the preparation of a new constitution for the country has become an inevitable matter, given our history and international changes," he added.


And externally, Erdogan said that Turkey will continue to formulate its relations with all countries, from the United States to Russia, the European Union and the Arab world.

Solve problems

On the sidelines of his participation in the conference, the leader of the Justice and Development Party Birol Demir said that his party is characterized by a democratic dynamic by pumping new blood into its leadership, and thus it is not affected by the defection of its leaders.

Demir assured Al-Jazeera Net that after losing important municipalities in the recent local elections, the party is seeking to strengthen its position through a package of political and economic reforms, in preparation for important parliamentary and presidential elections that will take place in two years.

He pointed out that the party will work to end a number of problems with some countries in line with the interests of Turkey and the aspirations of its people, and this comes in the context of improving relations with Egypt, Greece and the European Union.

The leader of the ruling party referred to work to stabilize Libya and Syria and to cooperate with Cairo in the eastern Mediterranean.

Erdogan: Those who preoccupied Turkey with its internal problems will not succeed in their renewed attempts (Anatolia)

first appearance

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) appeared for the first time with this name on the Turkish political scene on August 14, 2001, led by the founder, the current President of the Turkish Republic Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and over the past period the party granted two presidents to Turkey, Abdullah Gul and Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and 4 prime ministers, namely Abdullah Gul, Erdogan, Ahmet Davutoglu, and Ben Ali Yildirim.

On November 3, 2002, and only 15 months after its establishment, the "Justice and Development" fought the first general election battle in its political history, during which it managed to win the elections with a rate of 34%, which enabled it to form the 58th government in the Turkish Republic unilaterally headed by Abd God is glorified.

Erdogan was unable to lead the government at that time due to the consequences of his sentence in 1998 to 10 months imprisonment.

However, he soon returned to the political arena on March 8, 2003, and won the general elections in the state of Siirt, to become its representative in the Turkish parliament, followed by the resignation of the Gul government on March 11, 2003, and the awarding of the tenth president of the Turkish Republic Ahmed Necdet Sezer, the task of forming Erdogan's 59th government, on March 15, 2003, after which he became prime minister.

Also, the "Justice and Development" led by Erdogan was able again to win the general elections that took place in 2007 by 46.6%, and to obtain parliamentary seats for all Turkish states with the exception of Tunceli state.

In the general elections in 2011, the party managed to obtain 49.53% of the electoral votes and remained at the helm of power in Turkey.

August 2014 witnessed the first presidential elections in Turkey in which the people voted directly, and President Erdoan won by more than 52% of the vote, becoming the 12th president of Turkey, and Davutoglu to continue the process of leading the party and the government after him.

In the first general elections that took place during Davutoglu's presidency of the party, the Justice and Development won the elections in November 2015, to continue the party's march once again in the leadership of Turkey by winning the elections by 49.49%.

The history of "justice and development", which is full of merits and successes, was not without challenges, some of which were crucial to it, as the party was exposed to the risk of a judicial ban, defections by prominent leaders in it, coup attempts, as well as external interventions that tried to thwart its rule through economic restrictions and political siege.