5th Justice and Development Party Ordinary Congress

The date of Saturday, 12 September 2015 was formally announced by the party's spokesperson Beşir Atalay on 18 August 2015. The date was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the 1980 Turkish coup d'état. The venue was announced as the Ankara Arena. AKP congresses have usually taken place in the Autumn, with an election in November meaning that a date in mid September was seen as the most ideal.{{cite web|url=http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/1117425-ak-parti-kongresi-12-eylulde|title=Ak Parti kongresi 12 Eylül 2015 tarihinde yapılacak - Gündem Haberleri|access-date=20 May 2017}}

Due to an outbreak of violence between the Turkish Armed Forces and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and recent casualties suffered by the Army, the congress took place in a subdued atmosphere with tough security measures. Over 40 thousand AKP supporters were expected to take part, though the actual figures stood at 12 thousand. The congress was attended by many of the AKP's founders, many of whom are no longer MPs due to the three-term limit barring them from standing for a fourth time in the June 2015 general election. An invitation was sent to former AKP Prime Minister and President Abdullah Gül, though he stated that he would not take part.{{cite web|url=http://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/1126959-ak-parti-kongresinde-davutoglu-tek-aday|title=AK Parti'de genel başkanlık için Davutoğlu tek aday - Gündem Haberleri|access-date=20 May 2017}} Observers from the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which has been accused of supporting the PKK, were not invited, while it was rumoured that the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) would not send any observers either. Over 20 newspapers and media channels were banned from observing the congress.{{cite web|url=http://www.sozcu.com.tr/2015/gundem/akp-kongresinde-medyanin-yarisi-yok-932285/|title=AKP Kongresi'nde medyanın yarısı yok!|access-date=20 May 2017}}

Two proposed changes to the party's by-laws were brought before the congress. This included the lifting of the three-term limit on parliamentary candidacies for MPs who would otherwise have not been able to contest the November 2015 general election. The reasoning was that due to the short tenure of the 25th Parliament (June–November 2015), it should not be counted as a proper term towards an MP's three term allowance. As such, MPs who were elected for a third term in June 2015 would still remain on the November 2015 party lists. The by-laws also included a formation of a Founding Principles Board.http://www.turkiyegazetesi.com.tr/fotogaleri/ak_parti_kongresinde_surpriz-3508.aspx?O=4{{Dead link|date=September 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

• Ahmet Davutoğlu, the incumbent party leader and Prime Minister of Turkey ({{aye}} contesting).
• Binali Yıldırım, Special advisor to the President of Turkey and former Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication ({{nay}} withdrew).

Secretary Kerry Meets With Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu (2) (cropped).jpg|Ahmet Davutoğlu, the incumbent party leader and Prime Minister of Turkey

Portrait of Binali Yıldırım (cropped).jpg|Binali Yıldırım, Special advisor to the President of Turkey and former Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communication

Ahmet Davutoğlu was expected to be the only candidate for the leadership, with all of the party's ordinary and extraordinary congresses having taken place with only a single leadership candidate. However, the AKP's poor performance at the June 2015 general election and signs of disagreement between Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan raised the prospect of Binali Yıldırım running against Davutoğlu. Yıldırım confirmed speculation that he was exploring a possible run, collecting signatures from supportive delegates. He claimed that there was a 50% chance of him running. The AKP's deputy leader Numan Kurtulmuş was unable to confirm that there was only one candidate when asked during an interview, with many commentators suggesting that Yıldırım was supported and encouraged to run by Erdoğan, to which Yıldırım serves as a special advisor.{{cite web|url=http://www.sozcu.com.tr/2015/gundem/akpde-kongre-kazani-932670/|title=AKP'de kongre kazanı!|access-date=20 May 2017}}

After a disagreement over the party's provisional Central Executive Board candidates between Erdoğan and Davutoğlu was solved at the last minute, it was reported that Yıldırım had stopped collecting signatures for a possible leadership bid and the party's spokesperson Beşir Atalay stated that Davutoğlu would be the only candidate.

During the congress, only Davutoğlu declared his candidacy for the leadership.

Although there was a possibility of two rival Central Decision Executive Board (MKYK) candidate lists contesting the election, a last minute resolution between Davutoğlu and Erdoğan meant that only one MKYK candidate list stood for election.{{Cite web |url=http://www.aktifhaber.com/akpnin-yeni-mkyk-listesi-erdogana-yakin-isimlerden-olusuyor-1228504h.htm |title=AKP'nin Yeni MKYK Listesi Erdoğan'a Yakın İsimlerden Oluşuyor |access-date=2015-09-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150914172435/http://www.aktifhaber.com/akpnin-yeni-mkyk-listesi-erdogana-yakin-isimlerden-olusuyor-1228504h.htm |archive-date=2015-09-14 |url-status=dead }} The list of the MKYK candidates and the votes they received are as follows.{{cite web|url=http://www.internethaber.com/ak-parti-mkyk-listesi-belli-oldu-bomba-kulis-812712h.htm|title=AK Parti MKYK listesi belli oldu! Bomba kulis!|access-date=20 May 2017}}

• 2014 Justice and Development Party Extraordinary Congress

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{{Justice and Development Party congresses}}

Category:2015 elections in Turkey

Category:Justice and Development Party (Turkey)

Category:September 2015 in Turkey

Category:2015 conferences

Category:2010s political conferences