Bahçeli expected to remain MHP chairman in upcoming congress

Devlet Bahçeli, the current chair of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), will likely retain his position at the party’s 12th Ordinary Grand Congress Sunday.

Bahçeli is expected to be the only candidate for the chairmanship position at the congress, which will host some 1,200 delegates. This will be his ninth congress since he took over from Alparslan Türkeş, the founding chairman of the MHP.

He has previously held different posts within the party, including secretary general, deputy chairman and chief adviser to the chairman. If elected, Bahçeli will lead the MHP during the crucial presidential, parliamentary and municipal elections in 2019.

Ahead of the congress, MHP Secretary General İsmet Büyükataman in a statement said the MHP congress Sunday will lead to vital outcomes for the nation and the Turkish state. MHP Deputy Chairman Semih Yalçın in a written statement said the congress will spread the party’s excitement and enthusiasm about Turkey’s vision 2023.

Meanwhile, the number of candidates for the party’s central executive board has skyrocketed as more than 3,000 members were preparing to vie for just 100 seats.Following his re-election, Bahçeli was expected to focus on rejuvenating the party’s central executive board and select his A-team from the younger members of the board. According to MHP sources, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) will also send a delegation to the upcoming congress. The top-level delegation will consist of AK Party Deputy Chairman Hayati Yazıcı, AK Party Deputy Group Chairman Naci Bostancı and Parliament’s Constitution Committee Head Mustafa Şentop.

Drawing attention to the names in the delegation, the sources said that this will be the highest-level AK Party delegation ever to join the MHP congress since the AK Party was founded in 2001.