Yaşar Aydın
AKP offices had a very eventful weekend. As if on cue, eight provincial chairmen resigned from their posts. As expected, there was no reason given for the resignations, but there was plenty of gratitude towards Erdoğan. What happened to the provincial chairpersons of Muğla, Elazığ, Adıyaman, Bitlis, Çanakkale, Ordu, Tunceli and Niğde that they resigned less than a year after taking office?
According to the first statement from the AKP, these resignations took place because the desired success could not be achieved in their cities.
The statement reads: ‘Following the congress, the fact that our work in the cities fell short of our desired level formed the main axis of the process of change. The changes in our organisations will, as is our tradition, take the brotherhood among us and the energy in our work to a higher level.’ Needless to say, the statement concluded with a declaration of loyalty to Erdoğan and the creation of an organisation that will win the election. It is not very plausible that failure would be confirmed within 8-10 months of taking office and such a move would be made. If this is not the real reason, the question remains whether a signal has been sent for the days ahead.
BİLAL ERDOĞAN’S “TEAM” WORK
Tayyip Erdoğan made a speech at the AKP congress on 23 February this year, implying that he would be a candidate for the last time. While a significant portion of television viewers felt that he was “saying it’s the last time again,” there were also many who believed that it “really was the last time”. According to one view within the party, Erdoğan would step down as chairman in the not-too-distant future and only continue in his role as president. Those who said this also had a prediction about who he would leave the presidency to. That name was none other than Bilal Erdoğan. Developments were also taking place that reinforced this observation. At the same congress, Ahmet Büyükgümüş, said to be the name behind the resignations that took place over the weekend, was appointed as the Head of Organisation. As will be recalled, Abdullah Özdemir’s appointment as Istanbul Provincial Chairman while serving as Mayor of Bağcılar, and the fact that one-third of the party’s Central Executive Committee consisted of Bilal Erdoğan’s peers and colleagues, clearly indicated the preparations. The team preparations for Bilal Erdoğan had already begun within the party. The events of the weekend and the developments that will continue to unfold are closely related to the issue of ‘adapting’ to the new situation.
AN ERDOĞAN IS A MUST
It goes without saying that the change will not be limited to the party alone, but will inevitably be reflected in the bureaucracy as well. Following the police chiefs, it is worth paying close attention to the governors’ decree.
There is no doubt that Bilal Erdoğan’s preparations and the events within the AKP are important because they relate to the regime’s vision for Turkey. The choices made within the Cumhur İttifakı (People’s Alliance) will be the focus of the opposition’s struggle in the coming years. The battle for the presidency after Erdoğan will be between Bilal Erdoğan and Hakan Fidan, for the time being. If the broadest opposition front is watched closely, it will be noticed that “preferences” are being made regarding these two names even there. I am referring to the preference of ‘whichever one comes’ among those within the opposition – politicians, academics, trade unionists – who see the People’s Alliance as invincible.
BAHÇELİ’S TRÇ AND HIS LOVE FOR TRUMP
Erdoğan has finally got his wish. He will meet with his friend, US President Trump. It is already clear from Trump’s social media posts that this meeting will be costly for Turkey. In the coming days, we will learn what could be worse and discuss it at length. Before moving on to the meeting, it is worth looking at the statement made by Bahçeli the day before Erdoğan’s announcement of his visit to the US.
Just before the meeting that Erdoğan had been trying to arrange for months, Bahçeli made a statement saying, ‘The most appropriate option against the US-Israel evil coalition that challenges the world is to build and revive an alliance between Turkey, Russia and China, in line with reason, diplomacy, the spirit of politics, geographical conditions and the strategic environment of the new century.’ It appears that Bahçeli was aware of both Trump’s visit to Turkey and his subsequent trip to the US. So why was this statement made?
The first possibility is that Bahçeli wanted to offer Erdoğan encouragement ahead of the meeting with Trump, suggesting that ‘the US is not the only option.’
The second possibility is that Bahçeli wanted to send Erdoğan the message, ‘You’ve been doing a lot behind my back lately, stop it.’
The third possibility is that Bahçeli spoke with the mentality of ‘just talk for the sake of talking, fill the airwaves, and make it newsworthy,’ as he sometimes does.
We will soon find out which one is correct, but all these events have shown us one thing very clearly: Turkey is swinging like a pendulum between one person’s ambition and another’s fantasy. They think of this country as their farm and its inhabitants as their serfs, and they behave accordingly. The course of action is clear. We must bid farewell to those who appoint heirs and those who dictate the country’s direction from their seats. Those who cannot get along even when things are going well are unbearable when they are fighting within their party and alliance. Moreover, considering the potential for their situation to cause even greater harm to the country, there is no time to waste.
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WHEN DID THEY HOLD THEIR CONGRESSES?
• Ordu: 4 January 2025
• Niğde: 5 January 2025
• Muğla: 21 December 2024
• Elazığ: 25 January 2025
• Adıyaman: 28 December 2024
• Bitlis: 5 January 2025
• Çanakkale: 25 January 2025
• Niğde: 4 January 2025
• Tunceli: 12 December 2024
Note: This article is translated from the original article titled TRÇ, Trump ve AKP’de oynayan taşlar: Cumhur İttifakı’nda sular artık durulmaz, published in BirGün newspaper on September 22, 2025.
