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Turkey's Erdogan prepares to regain leadership of party he founded

Erdogan, who founded the AKP in 2001 and led it to victory in an election a year later, was forced to surrender leadership nearly three years ago when he was elected president

May 21, 2017 at 12:57 pm

President Tayyip Erdogan pledged to fight Turkey’s enemies at home and abroad, and his commitment to leading Turkey’s ruling AK Party (AKP) as he prepared to be elected on Sunday as the first Turk in nearly 70 years to serve simultaneously as head of state and of a political party.

He told a crowd of applauding supporters outside the sports hall in the capital Ankara, where the party congress was being held amid tight security

We were separated, but today we are together again

“We will work hard,” he added before entering the arena, where thousands of party faithful cheered and waved AKP flags.

He told thousands of rapturous supporters who gathered for an AKP congress, where he is the only leadership candidate:

Rather than facing our people with our heads down tomorrow, we prefer to stand tall today against the scum at home and abroad

“We will continue our battle against all terrorist organisations,” he said in the Ankara sports arena, vowing to maintain a state of emergency in Turkey until peace is achieved in Turkey’s fight against Kurdish and extremist militants.

Erdogan, who founded the AKP in 2001 and led it to victory in an election a year later, was forced to surrender leadership nearly three years ago when he was elected president, a position traditionally above party politics.

That changed with last month’s referendum, in which Turks narrowly backed a constitutional change to create an executive presidential system that would give Erdogan sweeping new powers and allow the head of state to be a party member or leader.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim greets supporters during the third extraordinary congress of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara, Turkey on May 21, 2017 [Turkish Prime Ministry / Mustafa Aktaş / Anadolu Agency]

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim greets supporters during the third extraordinary congress of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party in Ankara, Turkey on May 21, 2017 [Turkish Prime Ministry / Mustafa Aktaş / Anadolu Agency]

He 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. He replaces Binali Yildirim, who is set to remain as prime minister until elections in 2019.

Yvonne Ridley: Erdogan counts on people power

Such sweeping political changes, Erdogan says, are vital to ensure stability in Turkey as it battles Kurdish and extremist militants and after an attempted coup last year that Ankara attributed to supporters of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

On the eve of Sunday’s AKP congress Turkish police killed two suspected Daesh militants in a clash during a raid on an apartment in Ankara, state-run Anadolu news agency reported. The two men killed were believed to be planning an attack, the agency said.

Erdogan’s return to the party coincides with growing foreign policy challenges and tensions with NATO allies.

Last week he held talks with US President Donald Trump in Washington, where he sought to reconcile deep disagreement over US support for a Syrian Kurdish militia, which Ankara regards as a terrorist group.

There was also a deterioration in ties with European Union countries in the build-up to the referendum. Tensions with Germany have been exacerbated by a dispute over the stationing of German troops at Turkey’s Incirlik air base.

Read: Turkey wants Trump to fire US envoy as ‘supporter’ of Kurdish militants