The governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will hold its fourth Extraordinary Congress on Saturday in the Turkish capital, Ankara. A show of force for Türkiye’s most successful party since the early 2000s, the gathering will also be the "start of the local election campaign," its deputy chair told reporters on Friday.

The AK Party, which has held seven ordinary congresses since its foundation in 2002, is convening its members on Oct. 7 for its fourth extraordinary congress. The event, whose main theme will be "change and renewal," will result in major changes in the party’s Central Decision-Making and Administrative Committee, several members have said.

The party is also set to hold a chairpersonship vote, with incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan the only likely candidate.

AK Party deputy chair Erkan Kandemir said at a news conference that they were excited about the congress that will bring together the party’s supporters from 81 provinces of Türkiye. Thousands of people are expected to attend the event. The party also invited political party representatives from 27 countries, 127 ambassadors and three presidents to the event.

Kandemir stated that the congress would mark the start of their campaign for municipal elections set to be held in March 2024. It is unclear whether the party will announce its candidates, though officials have said they will most likely be announced in November or December. After emerging victorious in legislative and presidential elections in May, the party seeks to boost the number of its mayors, particularly by winning back mayor’s posts in the capital, Ankara and the most populated city, Istanbul, which lost to the opposition in the 2019 vote.