‘AK Party grows stronger with investments, services, expanding family’

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) celebrates its 24th anniversary, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday, underlining the party left its mark on the last quarter century.

“We continue to expand participation in AK Party on 24th anniversary with new members,” Erdoğan said at the anniversary program in the capital Ankara, criticizing the main opposition for attacking the new members’ choice of joining the ruling party.

“We have never bowed to the tyranny of those who orchestrate reputation assassinations through their media and social media hitmen, and we will never do so again. The gentleman (CHP Chair Özgür Özel) is uncomfortable, so be it; we will make him uncomfortable even more,” Erdoğan said. “The CHP Chairman is no longer a matter of politics, but is rapidly becoming a matter of psychiatry.”

“The AK Party is stronger today, it will be even stronger tomorrow. Nothing will be like before,” he added.

Entering political life as Türkiye’s 39th party, the AK Party was introduced by Erdoğan, then the former mayor of Istanbul, with the words: “From today onwards, nothing will be the same in Türkiye.” Two days after its foundation, at the Aug. 16 Founders’ Council meeting, Erdoğan was unanimously elected chairman, beginning a political journey that has produced four prime ministers, two presidents, and multiple landmark reforms.

Just 15 months later, the party contested its first general election on Nov. 3, 2002 without its leader, who was under a political ban, and campaigned under the slogan “On our own, into power.” It won 34.28% of the vote, emerging as the leading party and forming the 58th government under Abdullah Gül.

With amendments to Article 312 of the Turkish Penal Code lifting his political ban, Erdoğan entered Parliament on March 8, 2003, in the Siirt by-election. Following Gül’s resignation, then-President Ahmet Necdet Sezer tasked Erdoğan with forming the 59th government, and on March 15, 2003, he assumed the post of prime minister.

In its first local elections in 2004, the AK Party won 41.7% of the vote, securing 1,950 municipalities, including 11 metropolitan cities. In the 2007 general elections, it increased its vote share to 46.58%, maintaining its single-party government, and again topped the 2009 local polls.

A major challenge came in 2008 when the chief prosecutor filed a closure case against the party, seeking to ban 71 members, including President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Erdoğan. The Constitutional Court accepted the indictment on March 31, 2008, but on July 30, voted against closure as the required qualified majority was not met.

The 2010 constitutional referendum, held on the 30th anniversary of the 1980 coup, saw 57.88% vote “yes” to amending the 1982 Constitution. In 2011, the AK Party won the general elections with 49.53%, and in the 2014 local elections, secured 45.60%, winning 818 mayoralties, 18 of which were metropolitan municipalities.

On Aug. 10, 2014, Erdoğan was elected Türkiye’s 12th president with 52% of the vote, becoming the first to be chosen directly by the people. Konya Deputy Ahmet Davutoğlu took over as party chairman, leading the AK Party through the June 7, 2015 general elections and the Nov. 1 snap polls, where it regained its parliamentary majority.

On May 22, 2016, Binali Yıldırım was elected chairman at the 2nd Extraordinary Congress, forming the 65th government. That same year, on July 15, the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) attempted a coup — the deadliest in Türkiye’s history. Erdoğan’s call for citizens to take to the streets and airports stopped the attempt, and the solidarity between the AK Party and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) paved the way for the People’s Alliance.

The April 16, 2017 constitutional referendum — initiated by an AK Party proposal signed by 316 deputies — passed with 51.41% of the vote, ushering in the presidential system and allowing the president to retain party membership. On May 2, 2017, after 979 days away, Erdoğan rejoined the AK Party and was re-elected chairman on May 21 with all valid votes.

The first elections under the new system were held on June 24, 2018, after a proposal for early elections by MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli was accepted. Erdoğan was re-elected president with 52.38%, and the AK Party took 42.28% in the parliamentary vote, winning its 13th consecutive national election.

At the Aug. 18, 2018 6th Ordinary Congress, Erdoğan was re-elected with all valid votes. The party formalized electoral alliances in its bylaws and barred members from holding both Central Executive Board and cabinet positions. The AK Party and MHP continued their alliance in the local elections, with the AK Party winning 44.33% and remaining the leading party.

The 7th Ordinary Congress process, launched under the theme “Walk the road you believe in,” was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic but resumed in 2021. On March 24, Erdoğan was re-elected chairman with all 1,428 valid votes.

For the 2023 elections, Erdoğan moved the date from June 18 to May 14. In the first round, he won 49.52%, leading to a May 28 runoff, where he prevailed with 52.18%. The AK Party won 35.62% of the parliamentary vote, securing 268 seats and extending its record as the longest-ruling party since 1946.

On Oct. 7, 2023, the 4th Extraordinary Congress re-elected Erdoğan chairman with all 1,399 valid votes. The new Central Decision and Executive Board saw 49 new members, while 14 of 18 Executive Board members retained their seats.

In the March 31, 2024 local elections, the AK Party won 35.49% of the vote, capturing 24 provincial and 357 district municipalities. Erdoğan said the party would “carefully weigh the messages from the ballot box with reason and conscience” and initiated cadre changes in multiple provinces.

At the Feb. 23, 2025 8th Ordinary Congress, 39 new members joined the 75-seat Central Decision and Executive Board, renewing more than half the body. Three new presidencies — for relations with Turkic states, health policies, and culture and arts — were established.

From its foundation to its 24th anniversary, the AK Party has been defined by uninterrupted electoral success, constitutional changes, and leadership continuity under Erdoğan.