Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech during the Extraordinary Congress of the ruling AKP in Ankara, Turkey, May 21, 2017. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)
by Burak Akinci
ANKARA, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regained on Sunday the ruling Justice and Development Party's (AKP) leadership and announced the party's action plan for the 2019 elections, making him the first sole powerful leader in modern Turkish history.
The extraordinary congress made Erdogan the party leader again after three years, as last month's approval of constitutional amendments, which lifted a provision banning presidents from retaining affiliations with political parties, paved the way for him to regain his party membership.
The presidential system stipulated by the amendment will go into full effect after the presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in 2019. However, in the run-up to the elections, Erdogan will serve as a "partisan president" starting with the congress.
Erdogan pledged to fight Turkey's enemies at home and abroad during a speech he delivered during the Sunday congress attended by delegates and thousands of supporters from across the country in a festive mood and broadcasted live by all TV channels.
"We will continue our battle against all terrorist organizations," he said in the Ankara Sports Arena, vowing to maintain a state of emergency in Turkey until peace is achieved in the NATO country's fight against Kurdish militants and Islamist State (IS).
Erdogan is the first president to lead a party since Ismet Inonu who succeeded modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, and was head of state until 1950.
With the close results of the April 16 referendum indicative of the party's possible strategy in the near future, the congress is an important event determining the future steps of the ruling party.
The AKP has already formed an intra-party board to examine the referendum results and submitted a report to Erdogan. As such, his messages could carry further meaning for the party organizations in order to evaluate the campaign process.
"We are profoundly evaluating all aspects of this referendum and also trying to understand and comply to the message that has been given to us by the voters," Huseyin Yayman, Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism, said to Xinhua
"There's a new period laying ahead of us and we will make the most of it until 2019" when Turks will go again to polls for crucial twin elections, he indicated.
"In the new period, we will have a new action plan, and I will personally supervise the actions to be executed," Erdogan told party officials, who have stated that the future steps to be taken by the party will focus on "eliminating the perception that society is polarized."
According to the Turkish Political Party Law, the parliamentary group chair has to be a lawmaker and the position has to be held by the leader of the party. As Binali Yildirim handed over his party leadership to Erdogan at the congress, he will also automatically step down from his parliamentary group chair position. However, since Erdogan is not a lawmaker, legally he cannot preside over AKP's parliamentary group.
In order to overcome the legal problem, the AKP has made a move to change its party regulation to designate an acting leadership position at the congress. This amendment, which will be in effect until the 2019 elections, will pave the way for Yildirim to regain his parliamentary group chairperson position as the "acting leader" of the party.
The AKP group will convene on May 24 to elect Yildirim as the parliamentary group leader in a closed meeting.
Another important aspect of the congress will be an expected reshuffle of the party's management and cabinet. During the congress, there have been some key changes to the Central Decision and Management Board (MKYK) of the party, and that there will be an important marker for the future policies of the party as the "skeleton crew" of Erdogan will also mark Turkey's policies.
A comprehensive cabinet reshuffle involving eight to ten ministers is also expected.
One of his first steps is expected to be a change in the economic team in order to speed up policy making and reassure foreign investors and markets that there is no rift in the government toward structural reforms.
Turkey with an important growth rate until 2014, was once considered as a key emerging market but foreign markets are still longing for much expected economic reforms amid a sell-off the national currency, the lira, against the U,S, dollar and the Euro.
Erdogan reuniting with the AKP is the first concrete step in the wake of the constitutional revision adopted by referendum. Other amendments, giving the president authority to draft the budget, issue decrees and declare a state of emergency, will not take effect until after 2019 elections.
Erdogan could potentially remain president until 2029 under the country's new political structure.
"What's wrong with that, a strong leader can only mean a strong country, capable of dealing with the may and difficult challenges that Turkey is facing," said to Xinhua Semra Birge, a provincial official of AKP on the side line of the congress.
The referendum brought forward by the AKP, was criticized by the opposition at home, but also European leaders and right groups, who saw as a power grab by a leader accused of showing authoritarian tendencies.
