President and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is planning to make significant changes to party management at the upcoming AKP convention, as Parliament Speaker Binali Yıldırım and Deputy Speaker Mustafa Şentop will not be on the AKP executive board due to their current positions, the Hürriyet Daily News reported.
The ruling party is preparing for a grand congress to be held on Aug. 18, while party management is planning to make changes to the Central Executive Board (MYK) and the Central Decision and Management Board (MKYK), party sources told the Hürriyet daily on Monday.
Former Prime Minister and current Parliament Speaker Yıldırım and Deputy Speaker Şentop will not serve on the MKYK due to their leadership of the legislature.
According to the sources, Erdoğan has not previously assigned AKP members who have served on parliamentary commissions to the top party executive boards, due to which Constitution Commission chairman Bekir Bozdağ, Equality in Opportunity Between Genders Commission head Julide Sarıearoğlu and National Education Commission chair Numan Kurtulmuş may not be on the list for the top bodies.
However, it was said that Erdoğan might make an exception for Bozdağ and Kurtulmuş if he is considering them for the executive boards.
Treasury and Finance Minister Berat Albayrak, Justice Minister Abdulhamit Gül and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu are reportedly ministers who will continue to serve on the party’s top board.
In addition, it was stated that Nurettin Canikli, the former defense minister who has not been in the Cabinet or in parliament since the election, might be on the list for the MKYK.
Family and Social Policies Minister Fatma Betül Sayan Kaya could be on the list along with Elif Nur Bayram, an 18-year-old politician who failed in her bid for a seat in parliament in the June 24 elections.