‘AKP chair, not leadership, is changing hands’

Hürriyet Daily News editor-in-chief Murat Yetkin describes his first impressions from the ruling party’s congress in Ankara
The ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) extraordinary congress to elect a new chairman to replace the outgoing Prime Minister and President-elect Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is taking place amid much fanfare. Erdoğan has already endorsed Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who enters the congress as the only candidate.

“This is the first time that the AK Parti has organized an extraordinary congress. This is a take-over ceremony, not a race, and what is being taken over is the party chair, not the party leadership. There is no race and no competition. The AK Parti is more proud about having a single candidate than having a democratic race in the congress,” Hürriyet Daily News editor-in-chief Murat Yetkin observed in the congress hall in Ankara on Aug. 27.  

Here are Yetkin’s impressions from the congress hall:

- Ahmet Davutoğlu entered the hall with his wife Sare. The audience and the delegates in the hall cheered, but the real enthusiasm was probably reserved for President-elect Erdoğan. The organizers geared up the crowd by turning the volume of the music up. It was the live footage of Erdoğan from outside the hall that really enthused the crowd inside - not the announcement of the presenter who said, “We want to see your enthusiasm.”

- There is only one banner carrying a photo in Ankara Arena (above). The banner reads, “Your Way Is Our Way,” and it shows a picture of Davutoğlu right next to Erdoğan. The AK Parti is not looking for a new leader, but for an administrator who can manage the party and the...