Erdogan, whose candidacy was the single option, was elected party leader for the sixth time. He received 1,380 votes of delegates at the congress. All 1,380 delegates voted unanimously for Erdogan's candidacy. At the same time, Erdogan was the only candidate nominated for this post.
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The AKP was established in 2001 at the initiative of Erdogan and three other supporters. The incumbent president was elected the first chairman of the political movement. From 2014 to 2017, the party was headed by Ahmet Davutoglu and Binali Yildirim, according to previous laws, the president could not be affiliated with any political party.
Thanks to amendments to the Turkish Constitution, which were approved in an April 2017 referendum, this became possible. Erdogan re-entered the ranks of the ruling Justice and Development Party in May 2017.