The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) ruled to hold its extraordinary congress on Oct. 7 after a Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) session on Monday, some seven months ahead of local elections slated for March 2024.
The MKYK, convening under President and party Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the capital Ankara for the last time, discussed steps for the fourth extraordinary party congress where party leaders and other executive organs are elected and members determine party’s policies and agenda.
The ordinary congress, on the other hand, is planned after the local elections, local media outlets said.
The AK Party, which has a special focus on rejuvenation, is expected to prepare for local elections with a renewed, experienced and vigorous cadre, according to Turkish newspaper Sabah.
The party is not only evaluating the performance of the opposition in municipalities but also the performance of its own.
In this context, at Monday's meeting, local administrations head Yusuf Ziya Yılmaz made a detailed presentation on how many of the AK Party municipalities' promises to voters during the 2019 elections have been implemented, besides mayors' performances. The performance of current mayors who want to run again in the elections are being taken into account.
The AK Party is set to start shaping its candidate list in November for the upcoming local elections scheduled for March, a party official recently said.
Applications for mayoral candidates will open after the party convenes its extraordinary council on Oct. 7 as it concentrates on campaign strategies, Deputy Chair Hamza Dağ informed.
The upcoming polls will be a test for the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) municipalities, which govern over 50% of the population, namely Türkiye’s top metropolitans Istanbul, the capital Ankara and Izmir.
The AK Party has been working to rekindle lost support in especially Istanbul, which, politically, is seen as the most important administrative region in Türkiye and carries symbolic significance for Erdoğan since his time as mayor served as a launchpad for the foundation of the AK Party in 2001 and their subsequent election in 2003.
In the 2019 local elections, the party lost control of Istanbul and Ankara for the first time in 25 years, as well as five of Türkiye’s largest cities, to the CHP.
It has launched a comprehensive field effort to draft election declarations suitable for the needs, demands and deficits of the local fabric of each of the 81 provinces before next year’s race.