The first comment from President Erdogan on the sword-wielding oath-taking ceremony of the lieutenants.

The 8th Ordinary Congress process, which has been awaited for a long time, was initiated at the AK Party's Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) meeting held under the chairmanship of President Erdogan the day before yesterday. During the meeting, while May 29 was highlighted for the Grand Congress, Erdogan made a remarkable statement regarding the sword oath ceremonies of the lieutenants.

FOCUS ON RENEWAL

Erdogan, who made evaluations about the process of change in the AK Party, said, "We are a dynamic party. In the new era, we will hold our congress with renewal that will contribute to our party and our cause with new friends. Let's focus on the issues that will keep us together in the country in this period when the world is being dragged into crisis. We need to be in coordination for the future in a way that avoids unnecessary and exhausting debates."

CONGRESS CALENDAR STARTED

According to the information obtained, the congress calendar, which started yesterday, will continue with the congresses of municipalities and districts with a population of over 5,000 on October 12. It is planned to complete the provincial congresses between January and March.

NEW NAMES

In the presentation where the party's new e-organization model was explained, it was stated that young people who cannot actively participate in party activities can support party policies through digital networks. It was stated that some members of the MKYK claimed that such a structuring had no place in the bylaws and that it could constitute a "parallel structuring". It was evaluated at the meeting that in the new period, many provincial presidents, including Ankara and Istanbul, could change, and the organization could be renewed from top to bottom in the party's congress process. In this context, it was decided to work on bringing new names to the party. Accordingly, bringing successful names in business world, civil society, sports, technology, culture-art, academia, and social media to the party will be the main priority in the future.

"REFLECTING ANATOLIA"

The developments that occurred after the graduation ceremony where three female lieutenants from the Army, Air Force, and Naval War Schools ranked first for the first time in the history of the Turkish Armed Forces and the celebration that followed were also discussed at the MKYK meeting. Some members of the MKYK stated that this celebration reminded of "military tutelage and Turkey's coup history" and that the issue should be investigated. In response, Erdogan reportedly said, "This is an incident that happened after I left the field. I will evaluate this issue with the Minister of National Defense and the Commander of the Land Forces. Three female students ranked first, which is happening for the first time. In fact, this is a good answer to those who say 'women were confined to their homes during the AK Party era'. These girls reflect Anatolia. I had a conversation with them, and one of them is named Ikra... I will talk about what happened there this week."

In addition, it was noted that Deputy Minister of National Defense Şuay Alpay said at the meeting, "A group that started with 20 people... We determined that there are around 200 people including those who joined. We will follow and report whether it was done with reactiveness or with another intention."