President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday convened executives of his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) for two meetings in the capital, Ankara.
The Central Decision-Making and Administrative Committee meetings focus on party congresses, local administration operations and Syria.
The party launched its district conventions on Oct. 12 and has held congresses in at least 815 districts across the country so far. It plans to hold its national congress in early 2025, while Erdoğan is scheduled to attend 30 congresses, Sabah newspaper reported.
Through congresses, the party aims to reshuffle its cadres. Erdoğan, who has spoken at five provincial conventions so far, has signaled major changes within the party following the losses in municipal elections in late March. Several chairs of the party’s district branches have already stepped down while more replacements are expected.
Erdoğan meets party delegates, as well as local youths in the cities he visits, as part of the congress schedule.
“The results of the last elections have shown us a tableau that does not comply with Türkiye’s sociology,” Erdoğan said at a provincial chairs meeting earlier this month. “If our nation has not granted us the favor we had expected in the polls, then we must look not outside but into ourselves.”
He has since ordered the party to “reset to factory settings,” which includes “better reading the sensitivities of the people.”
Since March 31 local polls, having seen bad performances from opposition-run municipalities and Ankara’s diplomatic successes, citizen’s trust in the AK Party has increased, according to Sabah.
Monday’s meetings will cover upcoming conventions, municipal debts and the developments in Syria following the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime.