After the elections, the AK Party in Turkey is making changes to the positions of the heads of some of its branches

After Monday’s meeting of the Central Executive Committee, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK) announced new nominations in seven provincial branches.

The nominations come about three months after local elections in which the party lost several strongholds.

The party said in a statement that new provincial chapter chairmen have been appointed in Adıyaman, Afyonkarahisar, Erzincan, Gaziantep, Kastamonu, Osmaniye and Zonguldak and thanked their predecessors for their efforts.

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) won mayoral seats for the first time in the March 31 elections in the eastern province of Adıyaman and the western province of Afyonkarahisar, which have been ruled for years by AK Party mayors. In Erzincan in the Black Sea region, the candidate of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an AK ally, retained his seat. Gaziantep was one of the few provinces in the south where Fatma Şahin, the incumbent mayor from the AK Party, regained her seat. The CHP also won in Kastamonu, while the AK Party candidate only won about 36% of the vote. In Zonguldak, where the AK Party won the mayoral seat from the CHP in the 2019 elections, the opposition emerged victorious in the latest poll with over 54% of the vote.

In total, the AK Party won in 380 city and district communes, while the CHP announced victory in 372 communes. Despite this, the opposition is considered victorious thanks to its victory in cities where support for the AK prevailed in the last elections. This is indeed the first major loss for the ruling party in twenty years, when it won consecutive general and local elections.

Calling the heads of his party’s branches in 81 provinces for a meeting in early May, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan suggested changes to party cadres after the elections. He emphasized that they would not allow those who want to advance in their political careers and would focus on winning the hearts of “new names that will strengthen us.”