President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan unanimously re-elected as the leader of Türkiye’s ruling AK Party on Saturday.
Erdoğan secured his position as chairman at the party’s 4th extraordinary congress in Ankara by receiving 1,399 votes, following his nomination by top party officials.
In his address to the party delegates, Erdoğan expressed gratitude for their participation in the congress, stating, “We successfully concluded our congress, reflecting the values of our party.”
Founded on Aug. 14, 2001, the AK Party burst onto the political scene under the leadership of Erdoğan, who became prime minister in 2003 and has served as president since 2014.
Erdoğan vows to fulfill all promises
“We will fulfill all the promises we made with our nation, especially to strengthen the climate of trust and stability and to increase the welfare of our people,” Erdoğan said at the congress.
Following up on a pledge he made before being reelected president this May, Erdoğan reiterated his promise to introduce a new civilian constitution for the country.
“Hopefully, we will bring to our country a civil, liberal and encompassing constitution that will embrace the Republic with true democracy,” he said.
The incumbent constitution was introduced after a military coup in 1980. Erdoğan has repeatedly pushed for a new constitution to be drafted under civilian rule.
The president also reiterated his resolve to heal the wounds of the victims of twin earthquakes that hit the country’s southern region on Feb. 6 and claimed more than 50,000 lives.
“We will not only rebuild our cities destroyed by earthquakes but also rebuild and revive all settlements under earthquake threat,” Erdoğan said.
Türkiye plans to construct enough buildings in a year to meet the needs of the quake victims. Erdoğan previously pledged that 319,000 houses would be built in the first year and 650,000 in total.
“We will ensure that every citizen of this country can benefit from all kinds of services, especially justice, security, education and health, from birth to death, at the highest level,” Erdoğan said.
Breaking News Turkey with AA