What will be new at congress?

The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is getting ready for a critical congress.

The first indication of whether the AK Party will come to power alone with the Nov. 1 election is going to be the congress to be held on Sept. 12.

The date Sept. 12 is of great significance to both Turkish politics and the AK Party.

In a sense, we can say it is the first-step-congress.

Democracy was given a break with the Sept. 12 coup, yet with the Sept. 12 Constitution referendum, our democracy was promoted to the next level.

The AK Party is going to hold a meeting that will kick-start the election, however the actual Nov. 1 election season launching gong will go off at the congress.

The AK Party will experience its first test of whether it has fulfilled the requirements of the messages given by the nation at the June 7 elections.

In this sense, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu's congress speech will be important. The greatest void of the AK Party in the June 7 elections was the excitement it failed to give to the masses. The AK Party which carried out highly successful election campaigns experienced for the first time a campaign period that was defensive and couldn't excite the masses. Will the AK Party carry out an exciting election campaign? We will be seeing the first signals of this in congress.

Turkey has entered a distressful period since the June 7 elections. Whereas the AK Party entered a period in which it would be tested whether it will remain the country's future. On June 7, the people warned the AK Party. It was in a sense a show of compassion. It is possible to remedy this. It is possible to open new credit with the Nov. 1 election. The AK Party is going to determine its own fate. The strategy the party will follow from the Sept. 12 congress until the time the ballots are revealed will determine this result.

The AK Party is first going to show that it correctly read the letter that was written by the electorate at the June 7 ballots. Then it will show whether it is making sincere efforts to fulfill the requirements of this letter. This is the process in which the AK Party currently is involved.

This is why serious work is carried out aimed first at the congress, then the post-election process.

At this congress, the AK Party is going to show that it is primarily changed in its discourse, then in terms of its staff. Prime Minister Davutoğlu is expected to make an embracing speech. Turkey is going through a tense atmosphere. Whoever plays for tension or polarization in the Nov. 1 election will lose. Our people want reconciliation not tension; they want solutions to their problems, not political conflicts. That's what I mean when I mention strategies that will excite the people. Hopes are wearing thin due to concerns over the fight against terror and economic crisis. On the contrary, the AK Party needs to give hope to the masses of an economic leap. The Republican People's Party focused on economy for its last election campaign. This was out of the league of the CHP which harbors a sharp ideological policy. Yet the AK Party's success is also a little connected to its economic success. The AK Party might be able to turn this advantage to a new wave of excitement. I have the impression that they are working on this. So how will Prime Minister Davutoğlu speak at the congress? He will speak like Ahmet Davutoğlu. But it will be a well-timed and well-prepared speech with very good content. However, it will not be a speech made raising his voice, but rather one in which messages are given very clearly and the language used is an embracing one.

Will the AK Party conclude the congress with the Central Decision and Executive Board (MKYK) or a renewed MKYK? Major changes are expected to happen. In a sense, it is going to be a restoration congress. Surely this change is expected to reflect on staff. Because in the June 7 elections, our people also gave a score in relation to the AK Party's list and staff. Hence, a change in the MKYK and vice chairmanship in order to fulfill the requirement of this score shouldn't be a surprise.

The congress's base is very important. If the AK Party turns the congress into a democracy feast, and then follows this with a successful election campaign in which the mistakes of the previous election are fixed, strong reinforcements are made with a new list; coming to power alone is no dream. The current public opinion research also shows the AK Party's votes are in the 43 percent to 44 percent range. After the congress, building on this with each step, this rate can surpass 45 percent. Of course on the contrary, a great opportunity will be missed.

In the case of any change in party staff and discourse at the congress, this will secondly and most importantly be followed by deputy lists. The mistakes in the lists are no secret. They need to be eliminated to carry out reinforcement with the right figures. I know that work is being done on this at the moment.

The AK Party is going to bring together experienced figures with new staff and bring out a new deputy list by including local names that have become distinguished in their regions.

Some say there will be restoration while others say the lists will be rewritten. The lists are changing significantly.

These steps are aimed to be crowned with a joyful and exciting election campaign. I don't know to what extent it can be achieved. We would need to see its implementation in the field. However, the strategy being prepared is a more effective campaign in which Prime Minister Davutoğlu will hold less rallies.

The AK Party needs to give excitement and hope to the masses. The suspense of not knowing whether the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) would pass the threshold in the last elections was a source of motivation. This time, not knowing whether the AK Party will come to power alone could turn into a motivator. It is not difficult to achieve this. As long as the AK Party knows how to learn from its mistakes. For example, if they give up on driving Mercedes cars, stop wearing Ray-Bans, keep away from arrogant campaigns, act humbly and modestly in this election, the rest will follow.

This is because since June 7, Turkey has been witnessing what it costs to have no single power. The public is concerned that the economic developments may turn into a tsunami. On the other hand they are awaiting the reconciliation process with its new format and actors. But before that, it wants to see terror receive an affective blow.

This process showed how valuable a single power is for Turkey; similar to a crystal vase that needs to be protected with care. As long as the AK Party shows the people it is the same old AK Party. The people are ready to do what is required.

We have everything necessary to make the change, all that is needed is to take action.