Change gave clues to the new era

AYŞEGÜL KAHVECİOĞLU/ANKARA- While the average age of MKYK members is 51, 74-year-old former Local Governments President Yusuf Ziya Yılmaz retained his place on the board as the “oldest member.” The youngest member to join MKYK was national swimmer Umut Arman Sonay, also 22 years old. Erdoğan handed over the Presidency of the Organization to Ahmet Büyükgümüş, born in 1990, and the Secretary General to Eyyüp Kadir İnan, born in 1993.

Erbakan's bodyguard on the list

The party's most authoritative decision-making body after the congress, the Central Executive Board (MKYK), also included names from the world of sports . Names such as Abdurrahman Akyüz, the former close guard of National Vision Leader Necmettin Erbakan and one of the founders of the New Welfare Party, World Karate Champion Fatih Sadullah Selman, former footballers Mesut Özil and Ünal Karaman, and national water polo player Umut Arman Sonay were included in the main management team.

Haydar Ali Yıldız, former Beyoğlu Mayor and Chairman of the Okçular Foundation under the management of Bilal Erdoğan, from President Erdoğan's hometown of Rize Güneysu, was also present at the MKYK.

Umut Tuncer, son of folk singer Mahmut Tuncer, Türk İslam Karakoç, son of poet Abdurrahim Karakoç, and nature documentarian Serdar Kılıç also found a place in the MKYK for another term.

New design in MYK

While Erdoğan's half-and-half change in the Central Executive Board fell short of expectations, the new design he implemented in the party's A team, the Central Executive Board, contained the codes of the new era. In the party circles, the change in critical presidencies was interpreted as a result of the picture that emerged in the last two general and local elections. It is being talked about in the circles that Erdoğan may consider some important names that he did not include in his new Central Executive Board in the cabinet or that they may be rested until the next election.

'Change through transfers' policy

With the three participants at the congress, the number of deputies who have transferred to the AKP after the 2023 elections has reached 10, 7 from the İYİ Party, 2 from the Gelecek Party and 1 from the Yeniden Refah Party. It is noteworthy that Erdoğan has given these names important duties at various levels of the party. Former YRP member Suat Pamukçu became a member of the Internal Democracy Arbitration Board at the congress. Former Gelecek Party members Nedim Yamalı and Serap Yazıcı Özbudun, as well as former İYİ Party members Kürşad Zorlu, Seyithan İzsiz, Ünal Karaman, Dursun Ataş and Nebi Hatipoğlu, have entered the Central Executive Board (MKYK). Zorlu has not only entered the Central Executive Board (MKYK), but has also been appointed as the deputy chairman responsible for newly established Relations with the Turkish World, and has also joined the A Party’s A Team.

360 account

The AKP increased its number of deputies to 272 with the recent transfers that started earlier and continued at the congress. The People's Alliance partner MHP also has 47 deputies. According to the current situation, since the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Numan Kurtulmuş does not have the right to vote in the General Assembly, the voting power of the two People's Alliance partner parties remains at 318. The votes of 360 deputies are needed for the parliament to pass an early election decision.

Black Sea weight in MKYK

The Black Sea region's predominance in the 75-member Central Executive Board (CEC) drew attention. 15 members from the Black Sea provinces, 8 of whom are from Trabzon and Rize, will serve on the CEC.